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The  Angel  and  the  Vision 


THE  NEW  CHRISTIAN  COMMISSION 


CHRISTOPHER 


with  introduction  by  theodore  t.  mungeii   author  of 
"the  freedom  of  faith." 


'And  he  told  us  how  he  had  seen  the  angel  standing  in  his 
house."— Acts  xi :  13, 

'But  Peter  rehearsed  the  matter  from  the  beginnmg,  and  ex- 
pounded it  in  order  unto  them,  saying:  I  was  in  the  city  of 
Joppa  praying  and  in  a  trance  I  saw  a  vision." — Acts  xi :  4,  5. 


FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY, 
Chicago.  New  York.  Toronto. 

Ftiblishers  0/  Evangelical  Literature, 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  tlie  year  1895, 
by  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian 
of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


XTo 


"ALL   MY   HOUSE" 

ALSO   TO 

MY    "kinsmen   and   NEAR   FRIENDS" 

IN   THE    GOSPEL 

THIS   BOOK   IS   AFFECTIONATELY   INSCRIBED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR 


INTRODUCTION. 

There  is  an  enlargement  of  view  that  is  mere  breadth 
without  height;  it  keeps  along  the  level  of  the  earth, 
grows  wise  over  matter  and  force,  pierces  to  the 
center  in  its  search,  weighs  and  measures  all  it  finds, 
creeps  but  never  soars,  deeming  the  heights  above  to 
be  empty.  It  is  the  direction  knowledge  is  now  tak- 
ing. The  science  and  a  great  part  of  the  literature  of 
the  day  and  of  what  is  called  "  culture,"  and  the  vast 
crowd  that  claims  for  some  reason  to  "  know  the 
world,"  the  average  man  in  society  and  business,  all 
tend  to  a  mental  largeness  that  has  extent  without 
height.  It  is  always  difficult  to  maintain  the  equilib- 
rium of  truth.  In  preceding  centuries  the  mind  shot 
upward,  but  within  narrow  hmits;  the  gaze  of  thought 
was  heavenward,  as  in  the  pictures  of  the  saints. 
There  was  no  look  abroad,  almost  none  upon  the  earth; 
nature  was  simply  to  be  used  as  found,  not  studied  for 
further  uses.  Hence,  there  was  great  familiarity  with 
the  lore  of  religion,  but  dense  ignorance  of  the  laws 
of  matter  and  of  human  society;  there  were  mys- 
teries in  heaven,  but  the  earth  did  not  even  suggest  a 
problem.  Knowledge  was  high,  but  it  was  not  broad. 
Today  the  reverse  is  true;  thought  runs  earthward 
and  along  the  level  of  material  things,  but  hesitates  to 
ascend  into  the  region  of  the  spirit.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  how  this  tendency  pervades  classes  that  ap- 


Vm  INTRODUCTION 

parently  do  not  influence  one  another;  thus  the  scien- 
tific class,  and  the  Hghter  Hterary  class;  neither  reads 
the  works  of  the  other,  nor  are  there  any  natural 
avenues  of  sympathy  between  them,  yet  in  each  we 
find  the  same  close  study  of  matter  and  man,  and  the 
same  ignoring  of  God  and  the  spiritual  nature.  Or, 
compare  the  man  of  universal  culture  with  the  average 
man  of  the  world,  who  reads  the  newspaper,  and  keeps 
his  eyes  open  on  the  street;  the  latter  knows  little  of 
the  former,  never  reads  his  books,  nor  even  dilutions 
of  them,  yet  we  find  them  holding  nearly  the  same 
opinions  about  God  and  the  Faith,  vague,  misty  and 
indifferent,  but  both  are  very  observant  of  what  is 
about  them.  Such  a  fact  seems  to  indicate  that,  in- 
stead of  one  class  leading  the  way,  or  one  set  of  minds 
dominating  the  rest,  all  are  swept  along  by  the  cur- 
rents that  flow  out  of  some  unseen  force.  It  is  for 
some  wise  end  that  the  gaze  of  men  is  for  a  time  di- 
verted from  the  heavens  and  turned  to  what  is  about 
them.  It  had  become  necessary  that  man  should 
have  a  somewhat  better  knowledge  of  the  world,  and 
of  his  relations  to  it  and  to  society.  Hence  his  atten- 
tion is  directed  thither  by  a  divine  and  guiding  inspira- 
tion, and  no  thinking  man  can  be  exempt  from  it. 
The  only  danger  is  lest  the  tendency  become  excessive 
and  we  forget  to  look  upward  in  our  eagerness  to  see 
what  is  about  us.  It  is  the  office  of  Christian  thought 
to  temper  and  restrain  these  monopolizing  tendencies, 
and  secure  a  proper  balance  between  them,  to  hold 
and  enforce  the  twofold  fact  that,  while  our  eyes  are 
made  to  look  into  the  heavens,  our  feet  are  planted  in 


INTRODUCTION  IX 

the  soil  of  this  world.     Tennyson  has  no  wiser  lines 
than  these: 

"  God  fulfills  himself  in  many  ways, 
Les't  one  good  custom  should  corrupt  the  world." 

The  thing  we  are  apt  to  fail  of  to-day  is  not  breadth 
and  thoroughness  of  knowledge  of  what  is  about  us, 
but  of  what  is  above  us  and  within  us. 

And  in  this  spiritual  realm  there  must  be  breadth  as 
well  as  height;  conversions  not  only  in  character,  but 
in  opinion.  The  incident  before  us  is  a  record  not 
only  of  repenting  and  turning,  but  of  broadening.  For 
conversion  does  not  necessarily  enlarge  a  man,  it  may 
simply  turn  him  in  anxDther  direction.  It  is  possible 
to  come  out  of  evil  into  good,  and  yet  remain  under 
intellectual  conceptions  that  dwarf  and  restrain  one. 
There  is  a  broad  world  wisdom  that  often  runs  along 
with  a  worldly  life,  that  may  be  lost  if  the  better  life 
is  held  under  narrow  conceptions,  so  that  while  the 
change  may  be  a  gain  morally  it  is  a  loss  intellectually; 
a  process  that  has  had  illustration  from  the  first  until 
now,  in  the  proselytes  whom  St.  Paul  found  it  so 
hard  to  teach  the  distinction  between  the  letter  and 
the  spirit,  and  in  those  of  today  who  fail  to  distinguish 
between  conduct  and  character,  between  dogma  and 
life,  between  the  form  and  the  substance  of  the  faith. 

Valuable  as  this  book  of  the  Acts  is  as  a  record  of 
events,  and  as  the  nexus  between  the  Dispensations,  it 
is  more  valuable  as  introducing  the  life  of  the  Spirit, 
and  as  showing  how  the  faith  of  ages  develops  into 
liberty  and  the  full  life  and  thought  of  humanity. 
Here  we  have  the  full  revelation  of  God  evoking  the 
full  life  of  man.     From  "  Freedom  of  Faith  "  by 

Theo.  T.  Hunger. 


PREFACE. 

As  there  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth  than 
are  dreamed  of  in  any  man's  philosophy,  so  we  beheve 
there  are  more  rehgious  spirits  in  the  world  than  any 
Christian  thinks.  "All  men,"  says  Shakespeare, 
"  when  at  their  wits'  end,  pray."  All  men  have  their 
visions  and  dreams.  Man  is  a  religious  being.  All 
men  have  religious  experiences,  which  may  be  pre- 
ludes to  a  Christian  experience.  This  book  is  not 
written  alone  for  the  "  six  brethren  that  accompanied 
Peter,"  but  for  the  Corneliuses  that  are  in  the  world, 
"  his  kinsmen  and  his  near  friends,"  all  who  in  some 
degree  share  in  the  religious  aspirations  of  that  noble 
Roman  captain. 

The  book  is  not  a  story,  although  the  characters,  of 
which  it  is  a  study,  were  genuinely  historic;  it  is  based 
on  facts.  Cornelius  and  Peter  actually  lived  once 
upon  earth,  and  they  were  much  alike,  both  in  dis- 
position and  position.  Both  had  the  soldierly  spirit. 
One  was  "  captain  of  the  band  called  the  Italian  band. " 
The  other  was  captain  of  the  Apostolic  band.  Hence 
the  military  figures  we  have  employed. 

This  is  not  a  volume  of  sermons.  The  contents  of 
the  chapters  have  been  given  in  the  form  of  pulpit  ad- 
dresses. They  are  published  in  the  hope  that  many 
in    the    larger    audience    who    read,     may    say,     as 


XU  PREFACE 

some  in  every  case  who  heard,  have  said,  that  these 
thoughts  have  done  them  good.  They  are  thoughts 
on  Peter's  vision  but  they  are  not  visionary  thoughts. 
They  have  been  tested  by  the  four  hghts  of  Scripture, 
reason,  observation  and  experience.  Thus  "  knit  at 
the  four  corners,"  and  we  trust,  "let  down  from 
heaven,"  we  beheve  they  will  hold  together  and  settle 
down  with  the  weight  of  conviction  on  the  minds  of  all 
candid  inquirers  after  the  truth.  They  are  published 
under  a  nom  de  plume  for  the  sole  reason  that  they 
may  have  a  chance  to  commend  themselves  to  "  every 
man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God,"  untrarnmeled 
by  the  voice  of  any  name  or  authority,  or  lack  of 
authority. 

Several  novel  features  have  been  introduced  into  the 
work.  One  is  the  poetic  paraphrase  and  postcript, 
another,  the  insertion  of  songs  with  music.  We 
know  no  valid  reason  why  the  order  and  variety  of 
a  church  service  should  not  find  place  also  in  a  book. 

The  eight  chapters  are  based  upon  the  eight  coin- 
cidences of  the  loth  Chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles. Together  they  form  a  connected  series,  not,  we 
trust,  without  homiletic  value.  Few  men  can  write  a 
commentary  on  the  whole  Bible.  This,  as  far  as  it  is 
expository,  is  an  incomplete  commentary  on  a  single 
chapter. 

If  the  author  had  not  seen  a  vision  he  would  not 
presume  to  teach  a  lesson.  He  knows  not  "  if  an 
angel  or  spirit  have  spoken  unto  him."  He  beheves 
in  both.  He  is  not  a  sceptical  Saducee — nor  yet  a 
superstitious  Pharisee.     There  is  one  clause  in  the 


PREFACE  Xlll 

Apostles'   creed  to   which  he  subscribes  with  all  his 
heart:     *'  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

The  evpnts  related  in  this  chapter  constituted  a 
turning  point  in  the  history  of  the  Apostolic  church. 
We  seem  to  be  in  the  midst  of  such  a  crisis  in  the 
history  of  the  American  church.  The  need  of  to-day 
is  a  larger  Christianity.  By  this  expression  we  mean 
a  loftier  spiritual  vision,  a  broader  intellectual  horizon, 
a  more  intensely  practical  activity.  Peter  on  the 
housetop  seems  to  us  the  figure  of  the  coming  Chris- 
tian minister.  Cornelius  on  the  doorstep,  lifted  up  by 
Peter,  seems  to  us  the  figure  of  the  coming  Christian 
layman — reverent,  intelligent,  obedient  to  God,  benev- 
olent toward  man — the  Christian  churchman  and  the 
Christian  citizen,  working  together  for  the  salvation  of 
America  and  the  world. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  PAGE. 

I. — Accoutrement     and    Drill;    or,    The 

Conquests  of  Prayer.      ...       3 

II. — Observations     Through     the     Field 

Glass;  or,  The  World's  Conversion.     21 

III. — Visitors  at  Headquarters;  or,  Concern- 
ing THE  Supernatural.     .  ■         •     39 

IV. — Folding    Tents;    or,     Creeds    Recon- 
sidered. .  .  .  .         .     65 

V. — Idols  in  The  Camp;   or,   Churchianity 

vs.  Christianity.        .         .         .         -85 

VI. — Comradeship;  or,  The  Cure  for  Caste,    ioi 

VII. — Loyalty  and  Devotion;  or,  A   Conse- 
crated Life 121 

VIII. — The    White    Uniform;    or,    A    Clean 

Heart 141 


A  PARAPHRASE. 


In  the  Governor's  Castle,  in  old  Cassarea, 

Built  strong  by  the  side  of  the  sea, 
There  dwelt  a  eenturion — on  the  edge  of  Judea — 

A  Roman  of  noble  degree. 

Of  Cornelian  lineage,  the  blood  of  Scipio — 

His  legion  were  citizens  free — 
The  procurator's  guardsmen— a  chain  of  Cameo 

From  cities  of  fair  Italy. 

Though  of  swarthy  complexion  and  low  in  his  stature, 

This  captain  was  white  in  his  soul, 
Nor  of  man-sought  promotion;  bis  own  royal  nature 

As  true  as  the  needle  to  the  pole. 

But  of  God  he  sought  honor  and  glory  and  power 

And  life  and  immortality. 
At  his  prayers  he   was  frequent,   his  alms  they  would  dower 

The  poor  with  a  rich  legacy. 

Such  a  man  might  be  hidden  from  men  and  from  women, 

But  not  from  the  angels  of  God; 
For  the  Lord's  eyes  are  seraphs  that  fly  through  creation. 

And  run  through  the  whole  earth  abroad. 

To  the  aid  of  His  chosen,  Jerusalem  golden, 

God's  Son  gave  His  first  ministry, 
And  His  Spirit  continued  the  history  olden 

Of  calls  to  God's  great  Jubilee. 

But  at  length  He  commissioned  His  servant  and  angel 

To  strike  a  new  note  on  their  lyre, 
And  to  sing  a  new  anthem  of  blood  that  was  able 

To  purge  the  whole  world  as  with  fire. 


XVI  A   PARAPHRASE 

Not  the  chorus  of  Moses,  nor  hymn  of  sweet  Miriam, 

But  song  of  the  Lamb  that  was  slain, 
Of  the  ten  times  ten  thousand  that  float  in  the  empyrean, 

Their  robes  free  from  every  sin  stain. 

So  now  forth  to  this  harvest  His  messengers  speed  them 

To  garner  the  first  httle  sheaf. 
The  first-fruits  of  the  Gentiles,  a  token  and  emblem 

Of  blessings  to  come  through  belief. 

"  Cornelius,  thy  devotion  and  constant  alms-giving 

Come  up  in  the  sight  of  thy  God 
As  sweet  incense  that  rises  and  falls  in  its  rising — 

As  wreaths  o'er  the  head  that  is  bowed. 

Send  now,  therefore,  to  Joppa  and  call  for  one  Simon 

Whose  surname  is  Peter,  '  the  rock'; 
He  is  lodging  with  Simon,  of  mean  occupation. 

His  house,  by  the  side  of  the  dock. 

With  a  tanner,  not  soldier.     Fail  not  to  go  to  him, 

His  words  are  salvation  to  thee; 
Then  delay  not  nor  falter.     Thou'lt  sing  the  Te  Deum, 

Ere  long  for  a  new  gift  from  me." 

'Twas  the  Word  of  Jehovah;  a  man  in  bright  clothing 

Stood  forth  and  proclaimed  it  aloud. 
At  the  ninth  hour  of  prayer,  Cornelius  was  kneeling. 

Enveloped  in  no  mystic  cloud 

Was  this  angel  of  mercy,  but  evident,  leaning 

On  sword,  though  without  shining  wing. 
And  the  strong  man,  affrighted,  yet  still  caught  the  meaning 

Of  language  of  heavenly  ring. 

Prompt  he  called  his  two  servants  and  also  a  soldier, 

The  trusty,  the  tried  and  the  true 
Among  them  that  continually,  a  guard  of  due  honor, 

Stood  by  him  to  serve  and  to  do 

Whatsoe'er  was  the  bidding  of  Master  so  gentle, 

And  faithful  and  kind  and  devout. 
They  feared  his  God  also,  they  shared  in  the  trouble 

Qf  one  they  knew  so  much  about, 


A    PARAPHRASE  XVll 

These  he  sends  on  their  journey.     The  shadows  of  midnight 

Encompass  them  still  on  their  way, 
But  the  thought  of   their  errand  makes  hearts  bright  as  sun- 
light.- 

They  travel  on  into  the  day. 

They  draw  nigh  to  the  city  about  the  noon  hour, 

When,  resting  from  labor  and  heat, 
The  apostle  is  sitting  or  kneeling  in  prayer — 

The  housetop  a  favorite  retreat; 

In  the  Oriental  countries — a  place  for  reclining — 

The  shade  of  some  tall,  leafy  palm 
Making  couch  quite  as  pleasant  for  sleeping  or  dining 

At  noontide  as  at  the  day's  dawn. 

On  it  now  Jesus'  servant  finds  place  for  reflection; 

The  servants  were  busy  below, 
With  their  hands  full  of  labor  and  much  preparation. 

Their  guest  all  due  honor  to  show. 

Although  weakened  by  hunger,  by  prayer  and  by  fasting 

His  thoughts  with  his  appetite  grow — 
Of  a  trance  the  condition,  nor  sleeping  nor  waking. 

As  those  versed  in  such  matters  know. 

When,  behold!  heaven  opens  and  down  from  its  windows, 

Suspended  by  cords  from  the  skies, 
A  great  canvas  descendeth,  a  sheet,  without  pillows. 

On  which  Peter  fastened  his  eyes. 

As  if  asking  what  chamber  in  God's  heavenly  mansion. 

Its  contents  had  shown  him  so  soon; 
For  of  such  dazzling  whiteness  and  brightness  the  vision, 

Translated,  he  seems  in  his  swoon 

Up  to  Paradise  taken,  if  not  the  Third  Heaven; 

Not  yet  was  the  image  complete; 
For  a  new  transformation  takes  on  the  apparition, 

h.  field  seems  the  great  open  sheet 

Wherein  all  living  creatures  beneath  the  broad  heaven 

Seem  there  in  the  center  to  meet. 
And,  a  shambles  erected,  this. fisherman  even 

Is  bidden  to  kill  and  to  eat. 


XVlll  A    PARAPHRASE 

"O,  not  so,  Lord,"  says  Peter,  "  the  clean  have  I  eaten 

Alone  since  my  days  have  begun, 
Yet  the  clean  and  the  unclean  here  mingled  so  common, 

Distasteful  't  is  to  any  one." 

The  same  over-bold  Peter  crops  out  in  this  language. 

And  needing  rebuke  again,  too: 
"That  which  God  hath  Himself  cleansed  when  past  is  the  old 
age, 

Call  thou  not  unclean  in  the  new." 

'Twas  enough,  though  repeated  three  times  by  the  Spirit, 

Enough  to  confuse,  not  convince. 
Though  it  wakened  the  dreamer  who  thought  to  inherit 

All  blessings  through  Israel,  the  Prince. 

Though  the  Christ  had  commanded  the  things  of  the  kingdom 

Should  everywhere  flow  o'er  the  earth, 
Yet  the  men  he  commissioned  to  preach  to  all  freedom, 

Were  bound  by  their  Jewish  creed's  girth. 

He  reflected  upon  it,  this  weird  novel  vision, 

What  could  it  mean  ?     Ah  !  to  be  sure. 
Had  not  Stephen,  the  martyr,  declared  the  opinion 

That  Christ  was  the  world's  perfect  cure  ? 

Should  we  not  then  apply  it  and  test  its  great  virtue 

By  going  where  sick  sinners  are  ? 
"  Hark!  who  is  it  that's  calling?     My  name  seems  the  echo 

Of  voices  that  fall  on  my  ear!  " 
'Twas  the  voice  of  men  shouting:     "Where  is  Simon  Peter? 

We're  told  that  he  lodges  in  here; 
If  'tis  so,  we  would  see  him;  we  come  from  a  master 

Who  neither  knows  slackness  nor  fear." 
"  Get  thee  up  and  go  with  them,  thou  Bishop  of  Sharon, 

They  come  from  your  own  diocese; 
By  myself  have  I  sent  them  that  thou  mayest  open 

To  Gentiles  the  door  of  release." 
'Twas  the  Spirit's  voice  speaking,  and  with  the  men  pleading. 

With  theirs  making  true  harmony. 
God's  wise  Providence  ruling,  and  everywhere  joining 

The  things  that  so  sweetly  agree. 


A    PARAPHRASE  XIX 

So  the  Simons  received  them,  these  strangers  unwelcome, 

Because  so  defiled  by  their  meat. 
Yet  they  lodged  them  and  fed  them,  and  next  day  went  with 
them. 

Quite  eager  their  master  to  greet. 

For  they'd  heard  the  glad  story  rehearsed  by  these  servants. 

Of  how  a  tall  angel  had  stood 
In  the  house  of  Cornelius  and  promised  rich  presents 

To  one  who  had  done  so  much  good. 

For  the  leader  among  them,  a  chosen  companion 

In  arms,  guarded  well  his  lord's  fame; 
"  He's  a  man  well  reported  by  all  the  Jews'  nation, 

A  just  man  who  fears  the  Lord's  name." 

On  the  morrow,  day  after,  they  entered  the  precincts 

Of  Rome's  garrisoned  capital. 
Where  the  noble  centurion,  ,with  love's  native  instincts. 

His  kinsmen  and  near  friends  as  well 

Had  assembled  together  before  God  in  the  Highest 

To  hear  what  His  herald  would  speak. 
Though  to  him  in  his  blindness  this  man  was  the  nighest 

Divine  of  the  mortal  and  weak. 

As  he  enters  the  portal  he  falls  down  before  him 

In  homage  at  once  proud  and  meek; 
'Tis  the  custom  of  soldiers  to  make  a  low  salaam 

When  officers'  graces  they  seek. 

Peter  lifts  up  his  comrade,  for  such  is  his  station —  - 

A  man  like  himself,  flesh  and  blood — 
He  perceives  that  God's  favor  respecteth  no  person 

Or  nation  of  men  since  the  flood. 

But  on  righteousness  builded,  and  truth  heard  and  heeded, 

High  character  resteth  alway. 
Ended  thus  the  first  lesson,  a  second  was  needed 

For  preacher  and  hearer  that  day. 

Then  followed  the  sermon,  so  rich  in  instruction. 

Compendium  of  Mark,  Luke  and  John, 
Very  simple  recital,  of  no  man's  invention, 

The  story  of  Christ,  not  unknown 


XX  A    PARAPHRASE 

To  Cornelius  and  others  in  that  congregation; 

The  Word  had  been  published  abroad, 
But  its  riches  of  mercy  and  deep  implication, 

All  this  is  unfolded  by  God 

Through  the  mouth  of  his  servant,  the  power  of  the  Spirit 

Now  carrying  it  home  to  their  hearts. 
For  while  Peter  yet  speaketh  the  hope  of  all  merit 

At  once  from  his  hearers  departs. 

And  the  Holy  Ghost  falleth,  the  gift  of  the  Father 

To  frail,  faulty,  perishing  man; 
Is't  not  strange  it  surpriseth  the  Jews  who  came  thither, 

That  God  saveth  all  that  He  can. 

"  Can  any  forbid  water  that  these  should  be  washen, 

Who  have  the  pure  Spirit  as  we  ? " 
Truly,  no;  Peter,  never;  not  one  of  the  brethren 

But  heartily  now  will  agree. 

He  commanded  the  baptism,  while  all  are  rejoicing 

In  God,  speaking  loud  with  new  tongues; 
Though  the  miracle  ended  that  night,  the  next  morning 

Finds  all  of  them  still  at  their  songs. 


PREFIX  TO  CHAPTER  I. 


"  On  the  morrow,  as  they  were  on  their  journey  and  drew  nigh 
unto  the  city,  Peter  went  up  upon  the  housetop  to  pray,  about  the 
sixth  hour.'" — Acts  x:  9. 

God  never  makes  half  a  Providence  any  more  than  man  makes 
half  a  pair  of  shears.  If  he  fits  a  preacher  to  declare  His  Word 
He  fits  a  hearer  to  receive  that  word  ;  if  He  moves  one  soul  to 
cry  "What  must  I  do?"  If  e  has  always  moved  some  other  ser- 
vant of  His  to  direct  him  what  to  do.  Let  us  ponder  the  story 
of  Paul  and  Ananias,  of  Peter  and  Cornelius,  of  Philip  and  the 
eunuch  if  we  would  observe  the  mystery  of  the  Spirit's  two-fold 
ministry — to  preacher  and  to  hearer,  to  counselor  and  to  inquirer. 
And,  noting  this,  we  shall  understand  the  intimate  relation- 
ship between  the  season  of  renewal  in  the  heart  of  the  individual 
believer  and  the  time  of  reviving  in  the  church.  If  two  harp 
strings  are  in  perfect  tune  you  can  not  smite  the  one  without 
causing  the  other  to  vibrate,  and  if  one  Christian  is  touched  and 
agitated  by  the  Spirit  of  God  think  it  not  strange  that  all  who 
are  like-minded  in  the  Church  are  moved  by  the  same  divine  im- 
pulse. Not  for  ourselves,  and  that  we  may  enjoy  the  holy  luxury 
of  communion  with  God,  are  we  to  seek  for  the  times  of  refreshing. 
If  so,  doubtless  we  shall  fail  of  them,  for  even  spiritual  bless- 
ings we  may  ask  and  receive  not  if  we  seek  to  consume  them 
upon  ourselves.— Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon. 


A  Worker's  Prayer. 


Frances  Ridley  Havkrgal, 

_5       -/  -=r 


Mbndklssohn. 


1.  Lord,  speak  to 

2    0          lead  me, 

3.  0         teach  me, 

4.  0           use  me, 


me 
Lord, 
Lord, 
Lord, 


that 
that 
that 


may 
may 
may 
ven 


speak 
lead 
teach 


m 


In  liv   -     ing      ech     -  oes  of 

The  wan  -  d'ring;   and  the  wav 

The  pre  -  cious  things  Thou  dost 

Just  as       Thou    wilt,  and  when 


Thy  tone ; 

'ring  feet; 

im  -     part; 

and  where; 


m 


&- 


-»r= 


u—^ 


y=r=EEi--^ 


r    li:  -9- 


As    Thou  hast  sought,     po  let 

0       feed  me,  Lord,      that         I 

And    wing  ray  words,     that  they 

Un   -    til  Thy  bless    -     ed  face 


me 
may 
may 


seek 
feed 
reach 

see, 

I 


Thy  err    -    ing       chil   -  dren  lost 

Thy  hun  -  g'ring    ones  with  man 

The  hid   -  den    depths  of  ma 

Thy  rest,    Thy      joy.  Thy  glo 


and 
na 
ny  a 


lone, 
sweet, 
heart, 
share. 


=s-^ 


CHAPTER  I. 


ACCOUTREMENT    AND    DRILL  ;     OR,    THE    CONQUESTS    OF 
PRAYER. 

Prayer  is  like  the  personal  Jesus.  It  is  the  medi- 
ator between  God  and  man.  No  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father  but  by  prayer.      There  is  no  salvation  without  it. 

I. — Prayer  is  the  knocking  at  "  the  door  of  the  gate  " 
which  opens  into  life.  For  the  gate  of  the  kingdom 
is  not  like  the  gate  of  the  prison  into  which  Peter  was 
cast,  which  "  opened  of  its  own  accord."  Even  that 
gate  was  opened  by  prayer.  We  do  not  know  that 
God  ever  sends  His  angel  to  unbolt  the  bars  and  swin^ 
back  the  doors  that  shut  in  a  lost  soul  but  in  answer 
to  prayer  for  that  soul.  Certainly  the  angel  never 
brings  deliverance  to  a  single  captive  who  is  not  him- 
self, as  Cornelius  was,  a  man  "  that  prays  to  God,"  if 
not  always,  at  least  in  the  accepted  hour. 

Nor  can  we  be  released  from  the  "  inner  prison  "  of 
inbred  sin  unless  like  Paul  and  Silas  at  Phillippi  we 
are  found  praying  to  God,  albeit  songs  of  praise  rather 
than  of  penitence  may  now  mingle  with  our  petitions. 
If  we  would  get  past  "  the  first  and  the  second  ward  " 
of  both  the  guilt  and  the  love  of  sin,  if  the  "  two 
chains  "  of  bondage  to  sinful  habits  and  a  sinful  nature 
are  to  be  broken,  if  the  "  two  soldiers"  of  Satan  and 
an  evil  world,  sent  to  guard  us,  are  finally  to  be  put 

3 


4  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

to  death,  this  double,  quadruple,  yea,  sextuple  deliv- 
erance can  be  wrought  only  through  prayer.  If  we  are 
to  gird  ourselves  anew  for  the  Master's  work,  if  we  are 
to  bind  on  those  sandals  which  Paul  calls  "  the  prep- 
aration of  the  Gospel  of  peace,"  if  we  are  to  cast 
about  us  the  garment  of  holiness  and  thus  go  forth  we 
must  both  pray  ourselves  and  not  be  ashamed  to  have 
prayer  made  by  the  church  without  ceasing  to  God  for 
us. 

Whatever  the  motive  that  leads  men  to  Christ, 
their  inquiries  after  the  way  of  life  must  be  made  on 
bended  knee.  The  young  man  that  came  running  in 
the  way,  knelt  and  asked  "  Good  Master,  what  good 
thing  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life.?"  The  jailer 
came  trembling  and  fell  doivn  before  Paul  and  Silas 
and  said,  "  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved }  "  Saul 
of. Tarsus,  prostrate  on  the  Damascus  road,  would  not 
so  much  as  lift  his  sightless  eyeballs  to  heaven  as  he 
said  "  Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do "  and 
Cornelius  was  observing  the  ninth  hour  of  prayer  in 
his  house  when  he  said  to  the  angel,  "  What  is  it, 
Lord.?"  See  what  diverse  impulses  led  these  men 
who  are  yet  all  led  to  the  same  place  of  prayer. 
With  the  young  man,  it  is  the  hope  of  heaven;  with 
the  jailer  it  is  the  fear  of  hell;  with  the  persecuting 
Saul  it  is  neither,  but  a  desire  to  be  as  helpful  as  he 
had  been  hitherto  hurtful  to  the  cause  of  Christ;  with 
Cornelius,  the  "just  man,"  it  was  a  sincere  desire  after 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Yet  all  these  seekers 
after  God  sought  Him  by  prayer.  "  Behold,  he 
prayeth  "  could  be  said  of  each  of  them. 


ACCOUTREMENT    AND    DRILL  5 

"  Thy  prayers  and  thine  alms  are  gone  up  for  a 
memorial  before  God,"  said  the  angel — a  very  striking 
and  significant  word,  memorial.  Were  these  prayers 
and  alms  then  a  direct  petition  to  the  throne  of  God, 
such  as  might  be  sent  to  a  legislature  in  behalf  of 
some  needed  reform  ?  Did  Cornelius  intentionally 
seek  to  control  the  will  of  God  or  influence  the 
Almighty  thus  in  his  behalf  ?  Rather  do  we  think 
these  alms  and  prayers  were  a  seeking  to  know  what 
God  wanted  than  an  attempt  to  get  from  God  what 
Cornelius  wanted.  They  were  less  like  a  petition  to 
a  legislative  body  sent  by  the  creators  and  rulers  of 
that  body,  the  people,  than  like  so  many  messengers 
sent  to  the  Queen  from  Parliament,  asking  that  the 
message  from  the  throne  might  be  received  and  read. 
Cornelius  would  know  the  will  of  God  and,  therefore, 
he  had  set  about  the  doing  of  that  will  as  far  as  he 
knew,  waiting  with  eager  expectation  for  more  light. 
"  If  any  man  willeth  to  do  my  will,"  said  Christ,  "  he 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine."  And  this  is  the  conse- 
crated soul's  idea  of  prayer — not  a  petition  even, 
much  less  a  protest,  but  rather  the  preamble  to  a 
series  of  resolutions  that  have  already  been  partially 
carried  into  practice,  setting  forth  the  desire  of  the 
soul  to  be  more  fully  conformed  to  the  will  of  God. 
Of  course,  God  can  not  fail  to  save  a  soul  that  comes 
in  such  an  attitude  before  Him. 

The  first  conquest,  then,  of  prayer,  is  the  successful 
assault  on  the  gateway  of  the  kingdom — for  the 
"  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence  and  the  violent 
take  it  by  force,"  but  it  is  the  lawful  violence  of 
earnest  and  persistent  prayer. 


6  THE   ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

II. — The  second  conquest  we  mention  is  the  con- 
quest of  truth.  Here  is  another  gate  to  be  forced  by- 
prayer.  As  all  true  prayer  presupposes  a  measure  of 
faith,  so  it  prepares  the  way  for  increased  knowledge 
of  and  obedience  to  the  truth.  Prayer,  whether  it  be 
but  the  dim  yearning  of  the  sin-darkened  heart  "  feel- 
ing after  God  if  haply  he  may  find  Him,"  or  whether 
it  be  the  Macedonian  cry  that  more  clearly  sees  its 
need,  is  like  the  Damascus  street  that  was  called 
"straight."  A  crooked  thoroughfare  in  fact  it  was, 
but  it  was  the  straight  road  to  the  house  of  Judas  where 
lodged  the  sinner  Saul.  Crooked,  doubtless,  are  the 
notions  of  the  Pagan  souls  about  us,  but  their  heart- 
longings  after  the  salvation  of  God  are  straight.  And 
these  go  straight  to  the  heart  of  God.  If  we  could  see 
the  hearts  of  the  people  of  every  place  we  should  hear 
God  saying  as  he  did  to  Paul  at  Corinth,  "  I  have  much 
people  in  this  city."  There  are  more  hearts  that  pray 
than  this  world  dreams  of. 

Again,  prayer  prepares  the  preacher  to  preach  and 
the  hearers  to  hear  the  Word  of  God.  As  the  men 
draw  near  who  are  coming  to  Peter  with  ears  opened 
by  prayer,  so  his  own  mouth  is  filled  as  he  goes  up 
upon  the  housetop  to  pray.  As  the  table  is  set  by  his 
host  below,  so  the  Lord  prepares  him  a  table  upon  the 
housetop  above.  By  prayer  is  the  appetite  of  the 
eaters  whetted,  by  prayer  is  the  appetizing  portion 
made  ready.  Here  is  a  riddle  for  our  day.  It  is  the 
riddle  of  Sampson  again.  "  Out  of  the  eater  came 
forth  meat  and  out  of  the  strong  came  forth  sweetness. " 
Only  out  of  the  eater,  who  must  be  a  man  of  prayer, 


ACCOUTREMENT    AND    DRILL  7 

can  come  forth  meat.  This  is  the  riddle  for  the  pul- 
pit. If  God's  Word  is  to  be  as  sweet  as  honey  in  our 
mouths  it  must  be  lodged  in  hearts  made  strong  by 
prayer.  This  is  the  riddle  for  the  pew.  And  if  that 
Word  is  to  burn  as  fire  in  the  standing  corn  of  the 
Philistines  there  must  be  two  foxes  with  this  firebrand 
between  them.  The  pulpit  and  the  pew  must  be  tied 
together  by  prayer. 

We  are  not  prepared  to  "think  on  these  things," 
much  less  to  do  them,  until  "  in  everything  by  prayer 
and  supplication  with  thanksgiving"  we  have  made 
known  our  requests  unto  God.  (Phil,  iv:  6-9.)  This 
is  the  Divine  order  of  pursuit  in  the  investigation  of 
revealed  truth.  First,  prayer;  secondarily,  thought; 
thirdly,  action.  This  was  the  order  of  procedure  by 
Peter  on  the  housetop.  He  went  up  to  pray.  He 
tarried  to  "  think  on  the  vision."  But  his  reflections 
were  cut  short  by  the  Spirit's  imperative,  "  Rise,  Pe- 
ter."  He  was  not  to  stand  upon  the  order  of  his  going 
but  to  go  at  once  and  put  in  practice  the  principles 
just  learned  in  the  school  of  prayer. 

The  reason  why  we  must  begin  our  studies  in  this 
preparatory  school  is  because  the  vision  can  not  be  seen 
from  any  other  point  of  view  than  that  afforded  by  our 
faith-faculty.  This  is  the  dome  of  the  soul,  the  top- 
most story  of  "the  building  not  made  with  hands." 
"Eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard."  The  senses 
are  but  windows  in  the  basement  of  this  building. 
"  Neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  con- 
ceive the  things  that  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love    Him."      Judgment,  reason,   imagination,   these 


8  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

are  windows  in  the  second  story  but  they  are  not  the 
housetop.  "  But  God  hath  revealed  them  to  us  by 
His  Spirit."  That  Spirit's  voice  is  heard  only  in  the 
"  spirit  of  man,"  the  holy  of  holies  of  human  nature, 
the  housetop  of  the  human  soul.  But  the  existence 
of  this  housetop  is  scarcely  known  by  the  man  who 
never  prays.  The  hidden  staircase  that  leads  to  it,  is 
the  so  often  unused  ladder  of  prayer. 

Besides,  this  vision  of  the  soul  is  a  directer  one  than 
even  the  Divinely  aided  reason  can  give.  "  Blessed 
are  those  who  have  not  seen  and  yet  have  believed  " — 
to  see.  The  women  on  the  resurrection  morn  who 
came  "  and  held  Him  by  the  feet  and  worshipped 
Him  "  needed  no  other  evidence  that  it  was  the  Lord. 
They  needed  not  to  eat  and  drink  with  Him.  There 
are  souls  that  need  not  to  eat  the  meat  of  reason  laid 
upon  the  cold  beach  of  the  critical  judgment  or  broiled 
upon  the  coals  of  a  fervid  imagination,  nor  yet 
the  honeycomb  of  a  word-revelation,  to  convince 
them  of  the  glory  of  their  Lord.  They  need  no 
candle  to  see  the  Sun.  Like  the  beloved  John,  they 
recognize  Him  by  the  eye  of  faith  in  the  dawn  of  His 
personal  revelation. 

Only,  then,  in  the  treetops  of  the  soul  can  we  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Lord,  and  usually  only  in  "  the  cool 
of  the  day."  Jacob  learned  the  name  of  the  mystic 
angel  that  wrestled  with  him,  but  it  was  before  the  sun 
had  risen  upon  him  at  Penuel.  There  is  something  in 
"  the  light  of  common  day  "  that  makes  the  vision, 
like  a  photographic  negative,  fade.  Spiritual  things 
seem  unreal  in  the  glare  of  the  world's  "  broad  field  of 


ACCOUTREMENT    AND    DRILL  9 

battle,"  unless,  like  Peter,  we  spread  the  tent  of 
prayer  above  us.  Then  our  covering  becomes  a  glory, 
and  with  eyes  thus  shaded  we  can  see  at  noon-day  as 
at  midnight.  The  unseen  and  the  eternal  are  not 
easily  looked  at  save  through  the  telescope  of  prayer, 
and  then  only  amid  the  darkness  of  the  closet's 
solitude.  Hence,  retirement  with  God  is  indispensable 
to  such  research.  When  the  dew  of  a  prayerful  spirit 
is  off  the  soul  there  is  no  soul-prism  that  can  reflect 
the  glories  of  the  unseen  God. 

The  poet  of  Methodism  has  thus  expressed  this  truth 
in  his  famous  hymn  on  "  The  Wrestling  Jacob:" 

Come,  O  thou  traveler  unknown. 

Whom  still  I  hold,  but  cannot  see; 
My  company  before  is  gone. 

And  I  am  left  alone  with  thee; 
With  thee  all  night  I  mean  to  stay 

And  wrestle  till  the  break  of  day. 

Wilt  thou  not  now  to  me  reveal 

Thy  new  unutterable  name  ? 
Tell  me,  I  beseech  thee,  tell; 

To  know  it  now  resolved  I  am; 
Wrestling  I  will  not  let  thee  go 

Till  I  thy  name,  thy  nature  know. 

'Tis  love!  'tis  love!     Thou  diedst  for  me; 

I  hear  thy  whisper  in  my  heart; 
The  morning  breaks,  the  shadows  flee; 

Pure,  universal  love  thou  art; 
To  me,  to  all,  thy  bowels  move; 

Thy  nature  and  thy  name  is  Love. 

My  prayer  hath  power  with  God;  the  grace 

Unspeakable  I  now  receive; 
Through  faith  I  see  Thee  face  to  face; 

I  see  Thee  face  to  face  and  live! 
In  vain  I  have  not  wept  and  strove; 

Thy  nature  and  Thy  name  is  Love. 


lO  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

But  prayer  is  no  less  essential  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth  than  it  is  to  its  fulfillment  in  hfe.  The 
voice  that  speaks  of  duty  and  says  "  thou  "  with 
emphasis,  must  be  thrice  repeated.  It  is  twice  as 
hard  to  understand  as  it  is  to  believe  the  truth,  and 
thrice  as  hard  to  obey  as  it  is  to  understand.  Only  the 
man  of  prayer  can  solve  this  problem.  Only  the  man 
of  prayer  can  have  his  ears  opened  tp  hear  and  heed 
both  the  doctrines  and  the  commandments  of  the  Lord. 

III. — But  prayer,  again,  conquers  our  weakness. 
It  may  bow  the  bodily  form  and  close  for  its  purpose 
the  mortal  eye,  but  it  lifts  up  the  head  bowed  down  by 
care  and  sorrow  and  strengthens  the  feeble  knees  of 
irresolution.  Daniel  prayed  three  times  a  day  with  his 
windows  open  toward  Jerusalem,  David  prayed  morn- 
ing, noon  and  night.  Peter  also  had  this  habit,  as  did 
the  centurion  Cornelius.  Nor  was  it  a  matter  of  form 
to  the  former.      It  was  as  his  necessary  food  and  rest. 

Why  do  we  so  deceive  our  own  hearts  as  to  think 
there  can  be  any  other  than  a  vain  religion  that  does 
not  keep  itself  continually  before  God  and  the  Father 
in  prayer  ?  We  might  as  well  hope  to  live  by  fasting 
as  to  live  without  prayer.  And  not  only  is  it  the  diet 
of  the  soul;  it  is  its  daily  occupation.  To  "  watch 
unto  prayer"  is  the  only  way  to  wear  the  helmet  of 
salvation.  If  we  close  the  visor  of  such  watchfulness 
how  can  we  see  to  quench  all  the  flaming  darts  of  the 
Wicked  One  } 

Restraining  prayer  we  cease  to  fight, 
Prayer  makes  the  Christian's  armor  bright 
And  Satan  trembles  when  he  sees 
The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees. 


ACCOUTREMENT   AND    DRILL  II 

One  can  not  be  a  true  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  and 
not  perform  this  sentinel  duty.  The  good  soldier  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  like  that  devout  soldier  of  Cornelius 
who  "  waited  upon  him  continually. "  We  need  not  be 
as  Anna,  always  in  the  temple,  yet  we  can  not  serve  God 
unless  it  be  by  prayers  "  night  and  day."  So  Cornelius 
served  God.  So  Peter  served  Him.  So  did  the 
Divine  Christ.  On  the  mountain  top,  by  the  sea-side, 
in  the  temple  and  in  the  garden,  He  poured  out  His 
soul  in  "  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that  was 
able  to  save  Him  from  death  and  was  heard  in  that 
He  feared." 

There  are  three  great  means  of  grace,  prayer,  the 
reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  work.  They  sus- 
tain the  same  relation  to  the  soul's  health  and  vigor 
that  rest,  food  and  exercise  do  to  bodily  health  and 
strength.  If  one  would  know  how  to  get  physically 
strong,  and  how  to  stay  so,  he  must  learn  the  secret 
of  maintaining  the  proper  balance  and  proportion  be- 
tween these  three  elements  of  bodily  power.  He 
must  take  the  due  amount  and  proper  kind  of  food, 
exercise  and  rest,  and  these  in  proportions  properly 
adapted  to  each  other  and  to  his  own  constitution. 
So,  likewise,  is  it  with  the  care  of  the  soul.  We  can 
no  more  afford  to  neglect  prayer  than  we  can  afford 
to  refuse  the 

"  Sleep  that  knits  up  the  raveled  sleeve  of  care, 
The  death  of  each  day's  life,  sore  labor's  bath, 
Balm  of  hurt  minds,  great  nature's  second  course, 
Chief  nourisher  in  life's  feast." 

A  Protestant  Christianity  which  emphasizes  the  two 

Sunday  sermons  as  the  essential  features  of  its  wor- 


12  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

ship,  to  the  neglect  of  the  midweek  service  of  prayer, 
or  the  daily  call  to  Christian  work,  offers  a  temptation 
to  spiritual  gormandizing,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  prevalent  form  of  spiritual  ailment  among  us  is  the 
gout.  "  For  this  cause,  many  are  weak  and  sickly 
among  us."  Not  that  we  eat  too  much  of  the  Word 
of  God,  but  we  rest  too  little  in  the  soul-communion 
of  prayer,  and  labor  too  little  in  the  Lord's  harvest 
field.  The  average  Protestant  suffers  as  much,  pos- 
sibly, from  this  kind  of  spiritual  gluttony,  as  the  aver- 
age Roman  Catholic  from  spiritual  anaemia  or  mal- 
nutrition. 

Some  one  has  said:  "  In  prayer  we  speak  to  God; 
in  the  reading  of  the  Word,  God  speaks  to  us.  There- 
fore, if  we  must  neglect  either  of  these  great  means  of 
grace,  we  had  better  omit  prayer."  The  fallacy  of 
this  argument  is  quite  apparent.  There  is  a  false 
premise  in  the  syllogism,  leading,  of  course,  to  a  false 
conclusion.  Prayer  is  not  converse  with  God,  in 
which  the  praying  soul  monopolizes  the  heavenly  con- 
versation. So  far  from  this,  the  man  of  prayer  does 
not  even  lead  the  conversation.  For  all  true  prayer 
takes  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  leader  of  its  devotions. 
All  true  prayer  is  "  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  "  The  Spirit 
maketh  intercession  for  the  saints,  according  to  the 
will  of  God."  Where  He  leads,  we  may  safely  fol- 
low. Moreover,  prayer  is  more  than  converse  with 
God;  it  is  soul-communion  with  Him,  often  speechless 
with  rapture  and  holy  delight;  yea,  in  a  sense,  even 
thoughtless,  if  by  thought  is  meant  mere  ratiocination. 
"  Be  still  and  know,"  is  often  God's  word  to  the  soul 


ACCOUTREMENT    AND    DRILL  1 3 

in  prayer,  and  quite  as  often  does  the  Spirit  speak 
to  us  when  we  are  in  this  mood  and  attitude  before 
Him,  as  do  we  speak  to  God. 

"  A  communion,"  says  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon,  "  in  which 
something  is  imparted  from  God  to  us  as  well  as  some- 
thing asked  of  God  by  us,  should  be  constantly  sought. 
Is  it  possible  for  the  Lord  through  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
make  direct  and  intelligible  communications  to  our 
spirits,  instructing  us  in  regard  to  duty,  and  clearly 
enlightening  us  respecting  His  will  ?  Certainly,  Chris- 
tians who  have  sought  to  read  God's  handwriting 
from  the  tablet  of  consciousness,  have  often  been  de- 
ceived and  led  into  grievous  mistakes.  This  fact 
should  be  admitted  and  inarked  for  our  warning  and 
admonition,  as  should  also  the  supplementary  fact 
that  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  the  great  and  principal 
manual  of  instructions  as  to  Christian  duty.  But  there 
are  emergencies  when  we  need  more  minute  and 
specific  directions  than  could  possibly  be  contained  in 
so  general  a  book.  And  certainly  the  Holy  Spirit 
does  give  them  to  those  who  rely  upon  Him.  But 
how  ?  We  should  say  generally  by  a  providential 
guidance.  *  *  *  Besides  this  we  must  believe 
that  to  obedient  and  humble  souls  the  Master  does 
sometimes  speak  in  distinct  tones  through  the  Spirit. 
But  it  is  only  to  '  a  mind  inwardly  retired  before  the 
Lord'  that  this  privilege  is  given." 

Especially  when  we  take  inquiring  souls  up  upon  the 
housetop  to  commune  with  them  as  Samuel  communed 
with  Saul,  is  it  necessary  to  conserve  and  use  our  spir- 
itual strength  to  the  best  advantage  through  prayer. 


14  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

Quotations  from  the  Word,  of  promises  or  warnings, 
of  answers  to  doubts  or  objections;  these  are  indeed 
the  *'  sword  of  the  Spirit,"  but  a  verse  from  personal 
experience,  illustrative  of  these  texts,  will  give  added 
point  to  the  Word,  while  a  word  of  prayer  will  so 
bring  the  struggling  soul  into  close  quarters  that  vic- 
tory for  God  and  that  soul  will  be  assured.  So  that 
when  the  seeker  turns  to  go  from  us,  God  will  give 
him,  as  he  did  Saul,  another  heart.  (I  Samuel  x:  9.) 
IV. — But  prayer's  greatest  conquest  is  the  conquest 
of  the  world  for  Jesus.  There  are  three  Divine  forces 
that  must  cooperate  in  the  production  of  spiritual  re- 
sults. The  first  is  the  showers  of  Divine  grace.  But 
if  we  would  have  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  upon 
our  labors  we  must  open  the  windows  of  Heaven  by 
he  hand  of  prayer;  we  must  lift  up  mountain  peaks, 
\  ea,  mountain  ranges  of  supplication  wherewith  to 
condense  the  dews  of  Divine  mercy,  and  empty  the 
clouds  of  blessing  upon  our  heads.  The  second  heav- 
enly force  is  the  sunlight  of  Divine  truth.  But  prayer 
is  the  prism  that  unfolds  these  rays  to  the  soul's  vision; 
ihe  magic  lantern  that  casts  the  pictures  of  revelation 
upon  the  canvas  of  spiritual  perception.  God's  truth 
is  seen  best  through  the  hazy  atmosphere  of  prayer. 
The  third  force  is  the  season  of  a  propitious  Provi- 
dence. We  believe  that  God  sends  us  our  opportuni- 
ties, that  His  hand  always  opens  the  "  great  and  effect- 
ual doors,"  but  prayer  awakens  us  and  quickens  us  to 
improve  these  opportunities  and  to  enter  these  open 
doors.  Prayer  is  the  hot-house  roof  that  "  rushes  the 
season,"  that  "  hastens  the  coming  of  the  Lord."     If 


ACCOUTREMENT    AND    DRILL  I  5 

there  are  these  three  purely  heavenly  forces  concerned 
in  the  production  of  a  spiritual  harvest,  so  there  are 
three  human  or  earthly  ones — the  sozver  or  servant  of 
God,  the  seed  of  the  Word  made  flesh  through  the 
voice  of  a  living  ministry  and  the  soil  of  the  hearer's 
heart.  But  neither  v^ill  these  forces  accomplish  their 
purpose  without  prayer.  Prayer  is  the  combined  Gos- 
pel threshing  machine,  plow  and  drill  for  the  use  of 
the  Lord's  husbandmen.  Prayer,  far  more  than  study 
without  prayer,  will  husk  the  seed  of  the  living  Word 
from  the  Scriptures;  prayer  will  scatter  it  with  lavish 
hand  beyond  the  borders  of  the  actual  congregation; 
prayer  alone  can  break  up  the  fallow  ground  of  the 
hearer's  heart. 

Peter  went  up  upon  the  housetop  to  pray  and  that 
prayer  became  a  water-spout  to  catch  the  rain  of  Di- 
vine blessing,  a  lightning-rod  for  the  electric  currents 
of  Divine  truth,  a  ladder  for  the  descending  angels  of 
Divine  Providence.  Peter  tarried  upon  that  house-top 
in  prayer,  and  became,  through  the  influence  of  that 
prayer,  a  sky-light  for  the  transmission  of  the  truth  of 
the  Divine  Word,  a  burning-glass  for  the  focalization 
of  that  truth  upon  the  hearts  of  the  household  of  Cor- 
nelius; for  "  while  he  yet  spake  these  words  the  Holy 
Ghost  fell  "  as  through  a  trap-door  suddenly  opened  in 
souls  hitherto  comparatively  unconscious  of  the  reality 
and  might  of  the  Divine  presence. 

Almost  every  "  forward  movement "  in  the  history 
of  the  church  has  had  its  origin  in  prayer.  It  was  af- 
ter hours  spent  in  prayer  in  the  early  morning  that 
Jesus  began  His  missionary  tour  of  Galilee,      It  was 


1 6  THE    ANGEL    AND   THE    VISION 

prayer  that  led  Him  to  preach  the  Gospel  "  to  other 
cities  also."  It  was  after  a  night  spent  in  prayer  that 
He  chose  His  apostles  and  sent  them  forth  to  preach. 
It  was  after  praying  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send 
forth  more  laborers  into  His  harvest,  that  He  called 
the  seventy  and  sent  them  two  by  two,  as  journey- 
men. Gospel  apprentices  into  every  city  into  which  He 
Himself  was  to  come.  It  was  out  of  the  ^Eolean  cave 
of  prayer  that  the  "  rushing  mighty  wind  "  of  Pente- 
cost came.  It  was  prayer  that  unlocked  the  door  of 
the  church  to  the  Gentiles.  It  was  prayer  through 
which  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  heard  saying, 
"  separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  where- 
unto  I  have  called  them,"  and  when  they  had  "  fasted 
and  prayed"  they  sent  away  the  first  band  of  foreign 
missionaries  the  church  ever  ordained.  It  was  prayer 
that  prepared  the  heart  of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  to  re- 
ceive as  good  soil  the  seed  of  Divine  truth;  for  he  had 
been  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship.  Prayer  first  intro- 
duced the  Gospel  into  the  Dark  Continent.  Prayer, 
not  Xerxes,  first  successfully  invaded  Europe.  It  was 
prayer  that  opened  Lydia's  heart  and  shook  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Phillipian  jailer's  soul.  It  was  the 
prayer,"  mere  licht,  mere  licht  "  in  Luther's  heart  that 
brought  the  Reformation.  It  was  prayer  that  launched 
the  Mayflower.  It  was  in  a  prayer  meeting  on  a 
Thursday  night  that  Methodism  was  born  in  England. 
It  was  in  another  prayer  meeting  in  New  York  that 
Barbara  Heck  was  stirred  up  to  stir  up  Phillip  Embury 
to  stir  up  the  gift  that  was  in  him.  It  was  in  a  prayer 
meeting  behind  a  hay-stack  in  Williamsburg,  Massa- 


ACCOUTREMENT    AND    DRILL  I 7 

chusetts,  that  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
the  oldest  of  our  American  missionary  societies,  was 
born.  *  All  these  enterprises  of  such  "  pith  and  mo- 
ment "  but  for  prayer  would  have  "  turned  awry  and 
lost  the  name  of  action."  "The  native  hue  of  holy 
resolution"  would  have  become  "sicklied  o'er  with 
the  pale  cast  of  thought,"  and  nothing  great  would 
ever  have  been  accomplished  for  the  Master.  O!  that 
God  would  send  upon  his  people  today  a  baptism  of 
prayer! 


PREFIX  TO  CHAPTER  1 1 


"  While  they  made  ready,  he  fell  into  a  trance;  and  he  beholdeth 
the  Heaven  open,  and  a  certaiti  vessel  descending,  as  it  were  a 
great  sheet,  let  down  by  four  corners  tipon  the  earth;  wherein  were 
all  mattner  of  fonrfooted  beasts  and  creeping  things  of  the  earth 
and  fowls  oj  the  heaven.  And  thei-e  came  a  voice  to  him.  Rise, 
Peter;  kill  and  eat.  But  Peter  said.  Not  so.  Lord;  for  I  have 
never  eaten  anything  that  is  cofmnon  and  tmclean.  And  a  voice 
catne  unto  him  again  the  second  time,  Vlhat  God  hath  cleansed, 
make  not  thou  comtnon.  And  this  was  done  thrice;  and  straight- 
way the  vessel  was  received  up  into  heaven." 

"There  was  then  a  distinction  between  clean  and  unclean, 
indicated  by  the  calling  of  Abraham,  yet  more  explicitly  by  the 
Levitical  rites  and  laws,  yet  appointed  from  the  beginning  for 
we  read  of  it  in  the  time  of  Noah;  a  distinction  applicable  to 
men,  to  food,  to  dwellings,  to  land,  to  animals.  This  distinction 
was  made  by  God  for  special  ends,  yet  at  Christ's  death  the  dis- 
tinction had  served  its  purpose.  God  interposed  and  threw  down 
the  middle  wall  of  partition;  not  rejecting  the  Jew,  yet  accept- 
ing the  Gentile,  not  obliterating  national  distinctions,  but  making 
these  no  longer  of  any  importance,  and  attaching  to  them  no 
spiritual  or  religious  privilege.  Without  lowering  the  Jew,  he 
lifted  up  the  Gentile;  not  making  the  Jew  unclean,  but  the  Gen- 
tile clean,  so  that  from  that  time  there  should  be  (so  far  as  ac- 
cess to  God  was  concerned)  'neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  bond  nor 
free.'  In  the  vision  or  trance  Peter  was  taught  that  the  Gen- 
tile was  now  made  as  clean  as  the  Jew;  that  God  had  done  it, 
and  that  even  he,  though  the  Apostle  of  the  circumcision,  must 
at  once  accept  the  verdict," — Bonar. 


Missionary  Jubilee  Hymn. 


Francis  Bidl»y  Haveroal. 

A- 


W.  D.  G. 


:iS:i==pi=it=j„J_M-|l=j__!_U_qz=|=j=p^-^_4-1 


1.  Re-joice  with  Je  -  sus  Christ  to-day,   All  ye  who  love  His  ho  - 13'  sway  ! 

2.  Re-joice  with  Him,  re-joice  in-deed,    For  He  shall  see  His  chosen  seed ! 

3.  Of    all    His  own  He   loseth  none,  They  shall  be  gathered  one  by  one ; 

4.  A-rise  and  work !  a-rise  and  pray !  That  He  would  haste  the  dawning  day  ! 


m 


The  tra  -  vail  of  His  soul  is  past,  He  shall  be  sat  -  is  -  fied  at  last, 
^ut  ours  the  trust,  the  grand  employ  To  work  out  this  Di  -  vin-est  joy. 
He  gath-er-eth  the  smallest  grain,  His  tra- vail  shall  not  be  in  vain 
And   let   the  sil-ver  trumpet  sound,  Wher-ev-er  Satan's  slaves  are  found 

-^-     -0- 


^-^ 


-•— fi 


il 


-I 


=t 


m 


5  The  Tanquished  foe  shall  soon  be  stilled,  6 
The  conquering  Saviour's  joy  fulfilled, 
Fulfilled  in  us,  fulfilled  in  them, 
His  crown,  His  royal  diadem. 


Soon,  soon  our  waiting  eyes  shall  see 
The  Saviour's  mighty  jubilee  ! 
His  harvest-joy  is  filling  fast. 
He  shall  be  satisfied  at  last. 


Jesus  Crucified, 


Frederick  William  Fabi 
P 


:i 


-V--1- 


■^1 


1.  Have  we  no  tears  to  shed  for  Him,  While  soldiers  scoff  and  Jews  deride? 

2.  Saven  times  He  spoke,  serea  words  of  love.  And  all  three  hours  His  sileiice  cried, 

3.  Oh,  break,  oh,  break,  hard  heart  of  mine !  Thy  weak  self-love  and  guilty  pride 

4.  Come,  take  thy  stand  beneath  the  cross.  And  let  the  blood  from  out  that  side 


i-^-^^--^^^ 


Ah !  look  how  patiently  He   hangs ;  Je-sus,  our  Love,  is  cru-ci-fied. 

For  mer-cy  on  the  souls  of    men;      Je-sus,  our  Love,  is  cru-ci-fied. 

His  Pi-late  and  His  Ju-das  were  ;     Je-sus,  our  Love,  is  cru-ci-fied. 

Fall  gent-ly  on  thee  drop  by  drop ;     Je-sus,  our  Love,  is  cru-ci-fied. 


CHAPTER  II. 

observations  through   the  field   glass;   or,  the 
world's  conversion. 

On  the  map  of  the  world  there  are  no  longer  any 
unknov.n  lands  or  foreign  countries.  The  progress  of 
modern  exploration  has  led  to  the  occupation  of  the 
world's  remotest  bounds  while  the  invention  of  new 
modes  of  transit  and  communication  has  practically 
united  the  uttermost  p^rts  of  the  earth.  Space  and 
time  are  so  nearly  annihilated  as  to  be  scarcely  any 
hindrance  to  human  intercourse.  As  men  may  now 
travel  with  the  rapidity  of  the  wind  and  transmit  their 
thoughts  as  sv/iftly  as  the  lightnings,  the  time  has 
come,  foretold  in  prophecy,  when  "  many  should  run 
to  and  fro  and  knowledge  should  be  increased." 
Peter's  vision  symbolizes  a  modern  reality.  The 
telegraph  is  the  cord  that  now  binds  together  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth,  while  the  newspaper  is  the  sheet 
that  sets  before  us  daily  a  miscellaneous  dish  of  the 
clean  and  unclean  doings  of  the  whole  race. 

The  result  of  this  drawing  together  of  all  men  by  the 
multiplication  of  the  means  of  inter-communication 
has  been  the  rapid  growth  of  an  international  life 
hitherto  unknown  in  history. 

Mankind  is  beginning  to  realize  its  unity.  We  are 
coming  to  understand  the  prophetic  statement  of  Paul 


22  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

that  "  God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men 
for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth."  We  are 
learning  that  the  whole  wide  world  is  our  father's 
house.  In  it  are  many  rooms,  yet  every  one  is  occupied 
by  our  brothers.  The  whole  footstool  is  covered  with 
a  continuous  piece  of  human  carpet  upon  which  every 
knee  shall  yet  bow  and  every  tongue  shall  yet  confess 
that  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father. 
So  runs  the  modern  missionary  dream. 

Yet  it  is  more  than  a  dream.  For  the  work  of  the 
gospel  in  our  own  land  is  a  type  and  pledge  of  its 
world-wide  conquest.  The  vessel,  which  in  his  vision 
Peter  saw,  might  aptly  be  chosen  as  the  Divine  em- 
blem not  less  of  humanity  than  of  the  citizenship 
of  the  country  in  which  we  dwell.  Originally  an 
asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  every  land,  for  more 
than  a  century  the  spacious  retreat  for  the  over- 
crowded peoples  of  Europe,  our  nation  has  continued 
to  open  wide  its  gates  to  all  comers  from  all  quar- 
ters of  the  habitable  globe.  The  result  is  a  mixture 
of  tribes  and  kindreds  and  tongues  which  we  can  in- 
deed number,  but  which  taxes  the  assimilative  powers 
of  the  national  stomach  to  its  utmost.  How  can  we 
digest  this  mass,  this  conglomerate  population  }  How 
bring  them  into  the  experience  of  a  common  salvation  ? 
America  is  the  trial  missionary  field  of  the  world. 
God  has  not  waited  for  us  to  go  into  all  the  world. 
He  has  sent  the  world  to  our  doors.  We  have  but  to 
hear  His  voice  saying  to  us,  "  Rise,  kill  and  eat." 


OBSERVATIONS    THROUGH    THE    FIELD    GLASS         23 

I. — Opportunities. 

The  opportunities  of  missionary  work  to-day  in 
foreign  lands  grow  out  of  four  peculiar  conditions: 

Devoutncss  of  Pagan  Peoples. — The  Pagan  na- 
tions, though  blinded  by  superstition,  are  as  yet  com- 
paratively free  from  skepticism.  Translations  of  the 
infidel  writings  of  Voltaire,  Paine  and  Ingersoll  are 
sold  in  India,  Chma  and  Japan  and  these  tares  are  be- 
ing sown  along  with  the  pure  wheat  of  the  gospel 
among  the  educated  classes  in  these  lands.  But  as 
yet  the  mass  of  the  heathen  retain  their  faith  in  their 
false  religions  and  as  yet  there  is  no  corrupt  form  of 
Christianity  sufficiently  established  among  them  to 
give  point  to  the  caricatures  of  these  writers.  The 
"  World's  Congress  of  Religions  "  did  much  to  open 
the  eyes  of  the  more  intelligent  heathen  to  the  truth 
that  Christianity  was  an  individual  more  than  a  na- 
tional religion.  Hence  the  influence  of  the  evil  ex- 
ample of  nominal  Christian  residents  in  foreign  ports 
we  may  hope  to  counteract.  As  yet  the  perilous  time 
has  not  come  when  these  nations  are  ready  to  aban- 
don their  idols  and  go  over  in  a  body  either  to  Chris- 
tianity or  universal  skepticism — a  last  state  which 
would  be  worse  than  the  first.  Besides,  the  heathen 
are  comparatively  docile.  There  exists  not  among 
them  that  form  of  intellectual  conceit  which  presumes 
either  to  give  a  private  interpretation,  or  add  to  the 
teachings  of  their  sacred  books.  With  all  the  meta- 
physical subtlety  of  the  Hindoos  they  do  not  think 
themselves  quite  competent,  as  some  American  Chris- 


24  THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  VISION 

tians  seem  to  be,  to  reconstruct  their  Bible,  Nor  are 
they,  with  all  their  idolatry,  practical  atheists  ?  They 
believe  in  the  gods,  if  not  in  God,  and  live  according 
to  their  belief.  Immorality  is  undoubtedly  among 
them  in  its  grossest  forms,  especially  as  judged  by  the 
Christian  standard,  but  irreligion  is  an  unknown 
quantity.  With  the  problem  of  professed  impiety  the 
missionary  does  not  have  to  deal.  The  heathen  are 
devout  after  their  fashion.  They  have  not  yet  learned 
that  man  is  a  purely  scientific  animal.  They  count 
even  the  animals  themselves  sacred  and  consider  that 
if  man  is  not  a  religious  being  his  evolution  has  been  a 
dismal  failure.  And  because  the  heathen  have  in 
their  creed  a  place  for  prayer  and  for  man  as  a  wor- 
shiping creature  there  is  more  hope  for  them  than  for 
the  secularists  of  Christian  lands  who  are  without 
God  and  without  hope  in  the  world. 

Consanguinity  of  Pagan  Races.  —  Another  great 
opportunity  arises  from  the  compactness,  the  homo- 
geneity of  Pagan  peoples.  By  as  much  as  the  vast- 
ness  of  their  populations,  crowded  into  geographical 
proximity  and  united  closely  by  racial  relationship, 
renders  it  difficult  to  drive  in  the  entering  wedge, 
by  so  much  does  it  make  easy  the  national  log- 
splitting  at  the  last.  The  hitherto  Christianized  na- 
tions are  green  trees,  comparatively  young  and  with 
parts  loosely  knit  together.  We  are  soft  saplings, 
loose-jointed  striplings.  But  such  nations  as  India 
and  China  are  dry  trees — "  ancient  and  rock-ribbed  as 
the  Sun."  Yet  the  dynamite  of  the  Gospel,  preached 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  Heaven,     can 


OBSERVATIONS    THROUGH    THE    FIELD    GLASS  2$ 

and  will  open  them  up — as  tropical  forests  are  opened 
up-.-to  Christianity  as  well  as  to  commerce  and  civiliza- 
tion. Only  the  break  will  not  come  till  "  all  things 
are  ready."  But  when  they  are,  it  will  come  suddenly 
and  "  a  nation  shall  be  born  in  a  day."  Whereas 
now,  it  may  be  exceptional  to  baptize  whole  families, 
then  whole  villages  and  cities  will  turn  to  the  Lord 
and  give  heed  to  the  Philips  "  from  the  least  unto  the 
greatest." 

This  statement  may  seem  to  be  at  variance  with 
what  has  just  been  said  about  the  advantages  of  the 
present  mode  of  gathering  one  by  one.  The  danger 
of  a  wholesale  work  is  always  lack  of  thoroughness. 
But  there  will  never  be  again  such  spectacles  of  nomi- 
nal baptisms  by  the  thousand,  as  when  our  German 
forefathers  were  driven  like  sheep  into  the  river — and 
compelled  to  accept  Christianity  at  the  edge  of  the 
sword.  The  true  method  of  the  Christian  propaganda 
is  too  well  understood  today.  The  present  Pagan 
people  will  yet  accept  Christ  in  multitudes, ,  but  it  will 
be  "  in  the  valley  of  decision,"  and  under  the  influence 
of  Pentecostal  outpourings  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Here,  then,  are  two  conditions  similar  to  the  con- 
dition of  Cornelius  and  his  household.  The  devout- 
ness  and  simple-mindedness  of  the  heathen  joined  to 
their  antiquity  and  unity  of  race  render  them  indeed, 
"  devout  "  men,  and  those  who,  whether  they  fear 
God,  or  whatever  they  do — do  it,  "  with  all  their 
house." 

In  two  other  respects,  however,  the  present  day 
conditions  are  different.     The  Pagans  of  today  are  not 


26  THE    ANGEL    AND   THE    VISION 

rich  enough  to  "  give  alms,"  nor  are  they  in  any  sen- 
sible degree  prepared  by  their  own  religions  for  the 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

Extj'cine  Poverty  of  the  Heatheti. — The  poverty  of 
the  heathen  is  phenomenal.  The  comparative  com- 
fort in  which  the  poorest  classes  among  Occidental 
nations  live  is  unknown  in  the  farther  East.  These 
people  are  poor,  miserably  poor.  Millions  of  them  go 
to  bed  hungry  every  night.  Americans,  even  in  hard 
times,  know  not  the  meaning  of  the  word  poor.  Such 
squalid  poverty  as  the  great  mass  of  the  East  Indians 
live  in  is  doubtless  a  curse  of  God,  but  that  compara- 
tive universal  wealth  and  comfort  which  is  the  product 
of  Christianity  and  which  prevails  only  under  a 
Christian  civilization,  has  not  yet  come  among  them 
to  minister  to  the  pride  of  m.an.  The  heathen  have 
no  great  material  civilization  of  which  to  boast  while 
they  forget  that  God  who  is  "the  Father  of  lights" 
and  "  from  whom  cometh  every  good  and  perfect 
gift."  And  because  they  are  poor,  and  consequently 
humble,  the  lower  caste  people  of  India  are  to-day  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  "  gladly  receiving  the 
word,"  as  the  poor  of  this  Vv'orld  always  have  done  in 
all  ages  when  the  gospel  has  been  simply  and  lovingly 
preached  to  them. 

Heathen  Fields  Virgin  Soil. — A  fourth  and  last 
great  opportunity  we  mention  comes  from  the  fact 
that  the  heathen  fields  are  yet  virgin  soil  for  the  seed 
of  Divine  truth.  The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  has  never 
been  adequately  tried  among  them.  What  fruit  it 
may  yet  bring  forth  we  only  know  in  part,    What  new 


OBSERVATIONS    THROUGH    THE    FIELD    GLASS        2/ 

and  matchless  forms  of  Christian  character  and  Hfe  it 
may  develop  and  thus  add  to  the  infinite  variety  of 
Christian  products,  who  can  tell  ?  It  may  be,  yea,  it 
must  be,  because  "offenses  must  needs  come,"  that 
individuals  among  them,  yea,  whole  cities  may  reject 
our  Christ,  but  as  yet  there  are  none  among  them 
"  condemned  already."  There  are  cities  in  America 
which  have  been  exalted  to  heaven  in  point  of  privi- 
lege that  are  even  now  cast  down  to  hell  in  point  of 
peril.  The  problem  of  all  time  is  how  to  save  these 
cities.  But  heathen  cities  are  neither  so  lost  nor  yet 
so  saved  because  not  so  enlightened.  The  shadows 
are  always  deepest  and  darkest  where  the  light  is  most 
intense.  There  are  doubtless  abominations  in  London 
and  Chicago  that  can  not  be  paralleled  in  Calcutta  or 
Bombay,  and  so  we  have  a  greater  chance  to  fully  save 
Calcutta  or  Bombay  than  we  have  to  save  New  York  or 
Chicago.  In  spite  of  a  century  of  missions  the  field  is 
yet  comparatively  uncultivated.  The  skirmish  only  has 
been  fought,  the  battle  is  yet  to  begin,  A  hundred 
years  of  world-wide  missions  means  comparatively  a 
hundred  years  of  seed  sowing.  The  time  of  the  har- 
vest is  not  yet.  What  it  shall  be,  it  doth  not  yet  ap- 
pear, but  we  know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  the 
church  gathered  out  of  all  nations  shall  appear  with 
him  in  glory. 

II. — Hindrances. 

But  to  the  voice  which  says:  "  Rise,  kill  and 
eat,"  we  today,  like  Peter,  say,  "  Not  so.  Lord."  In 
the  great  debate  on  the  subject  of  world-wide  missions, 


28  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

which  took  place  in  the  council  of  Jerusalem  some 
years  after  the  time  of  Peter's  vision,  the  church  was 
divided  into  three  parties. 

1.  The  party  of  James,  which  was  Judaistic  and 
ultra-conservative,  although  it  probably  included  at 
the  time  a  large  majority  of  the  apostles  and  brethren. 

2.  The  party  of  Peter,  the  conservatives. 

3.  The  party  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  the  progres- 
sives. 

The  party  of  James  stood  for  the  principle  of  elec- 
tion. "  God  at  the  first  did  visit  the  Gentiles  to  take 
out  of  them  a  people  for  his  name."  The  party  of 
Peter  stood  for  the  principle  of  official  prerogative, 
"  Ye  know,"  says  Peter,  "  how  that  a  good  while  ago 
God  made  choice  among  us  that  by  my  mouth  the 
Gentiles  should  hear  the  word  of  the  gospel  and  be- 
lieve. "  But  the  party  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  stood  for  in- 
dependent evangelism,  the  test  of  whose  authority  was 
results.  They  stood  for  a  universal  gospel  received 
by  those  who,  hearing  that  God  was  no  respecter  of 
persons,  judged  themselves,  through  the  merits  of 
Christ's  blood,  worthy  of  eternal  life. 

"We  have  these  parties  in  the  church  today.  There 
is  the  hyper-Calvinist,  the  modern  Judaist,  who  con- 
strues the  principle  of  national  election  to  special 
religious  privileges  or  individual  election  to  office  in 
the  kingdom  as  a  limited  personal  call  to  life  and  sal- 
vation. He  can  not  be  expected  to  be  a  very  enthu- 
siastic advocate  of  the  cause  of  missions.  Neither 
can  his  half-brother  who  believes  that  this  gospel  of 
the  kingdorn  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a 


OBSERVATIONS    THROUGH    THE    FIELD    GLASS         29 

witness  against  the  world's  sin  and  unbelief  rather 
than  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  Any  one  who 
looks  for  the  end  to  come  before  the  gospel  has 
brought  the  kingdom  more  fully  than  we  see  it  at  pre- 
sent established,  it  seems  to  us,  can  not  believe  much 
in  the  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  does  much 
harm  to  the  cause  of  the  world's  evangelization. 
Then  there  is  the  party  of  Peter  who  look  with  dis- 
favor upon  any  but  the  regular  operations  of  the  church 
missionary  societies,  any  attempts  made  by  Spirit- 
baptized  individual  leaders  to  accomplish  in  the  way 
of  faith  or  on  the  principle  of  self-support,  what  is 
being  done  in  another  way  by  the  official  church 
agencies.  And  yet  in  spite  of  these  prejudices  we  are 
more  and  more  coming  to  agree  that  God  wills  the  sal- 
vation of  the  world.  Let  Him  work  by  whomsoever  He 
will  we  will  still  pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send 
forth  more  laborers  into  His  harvest. 

Other  hindrances,  which  are  mere  scruples,  may  be 
easily  removed.  To-day,  as  in  Paul's  time,  the  gross 
immorality,  the  universal  idolatry  and  the  personal 
impurity  of  Pagan  people  might  properly  require  a 
similar  encychcal,  bidding  the  converts  from  heathen- 
ism "  abstain  from  fornication  and  from  idols  and  from 
things  strangled  and  from  blood."  Yet  our  mission- 
aries report  that  heathen  converts  are  quite  as  success- 
ful in  the  conquest  of  their  besetting  sins  and  in  the 
improvement  of  both  manners  and  morals  as  the  aver- 
age convert  in  Christian  lands. 

There  is,  indeed,  but  one  serious  obstacle  to  our 
faith  in  the  rapid  progress  of  the  gospel.     That  dif- 


30  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

ficulty  is  race  prejudice.  It  is  deeply  rooted.  In  our 
home  missionary  work  it  is  the  source  of  much  unbe- 
hef  and  hardness  of  heart.  In  the  West  it  confronts 
us  in  the  saying  that  "  the  only  good  Indian  is  a  dead 
Indian  "  and  *'  for  ways  that  are  dark  and  tricks  that 
are  vain  the  heathen  Chinee  is  peculiar."  In  the 
South  it  is  "  cursed  be  Canaan,  a  servant  of  servants 
shall  he  be."  In  the  cities  it  is  our  foreign-born 
population  that  can  not  be  saved.  In  the  country  it 
is  "  the  poor  white  trash."  Abroad,  it  is  the  whole 
non-Anglo-Saxon  world.  It  is  even  boldly  declared 
that  Christianity  is  adapted  only  to  this  latter  race  or 
mixture  of  races.  Then  we  laboriously  trace  our 
genealogy  to  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel,  as  if  this 
descent,  if  proved,  were  a  sufficient  explanation  of  the 
success  of  the  gospel  in  the  English  speaking  world. 

But  we  should  not  to  be  thus  wise  in  our  own  con- 
ceits. This  gospel  is  for  every  race  that  will  believe 
and  if  the  Anglo-Saxon  part  of  the  Christian  world 
prove  recreant  to  its  high  trust  God  will  raise  up 
another  race  to  do  His  missionary  work.  Race  pride 
and  prejudice  must  be  removed  if  Christ's  way  is  to 
be  prepared  among  all  nations. 

III. — Obligations. 

And  so  the  Divine  voice  replies  :  "  What  God 
hath  cleansed  call  not  thou  common."  It  is  said  that 
the  heathen  can  be  saved  without  us.  If  this  means 
that  they  will  all  be  saved,  this  last  error  of  universal- 
ism,  as  applied  to  the  Pagan  world,  is  worse  than  the 
first   crude  heresy  which    said  that  they  will  all  be 


OBSERVATIONS    THROUGH    THE    FIELD    GLASS         3 1 

damned.  If,  in  past  generations,  Christians  inclined 
too  much  to  the  latter  view,  the  church  of  to-day  in- 
clines too  much  to  the  former.  But  what  do  we  mean 
when  we  say  that  they  can  be  saved  without  the  gos- 
pel ?  The  old  missionary  argument  was  based  upon  a 
theory  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  heathen,  which 
left  them  all  without  hope  as  long  as  they  were  with- 
out a  knowledge  of  God  through  the  written  script- 
ures, the  historical  Christ,  or  the  preached  gospel. 
The  new  argument  does  not  underestimate  the  saving 
efficacy  of  these  Divine  instrumentalities,  but  it  does 
not  dwell  so  exclusively  on  the  picture  of  the  lost  con- 
dition of  the  Pagan  world.  It  says  that  "  in  every 
nation  he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness 
is  accepted  with  Him."  It  declares  that  God  is  no  re- 
specter of  persons  and  that  whosoever  anywhere  lives 
up  to  the  light  he  has  can  not  be  under  Divine  con- 
demnation. 

Alongside  this  principle  the  modern  believer  in  mis- 
sions lays  another,  viz.  :  That  such  heathen  are  not 
brought  into  a  justified  relation  to  God  by  the  exer- 
cise of  evangelical  faith,  but  by  obedience  to  the  truth 
they  know.  The  principle  of  obedience  is  the  root  of 
saving  faith  "  among  all  nations,"  but  it  has  one  man- 
ifestation among  those  who  are  "  without  the  law" 
and  another  among  those  who  are  "  under  the  law," 
as  the  Jews  were.  And  still  another  among  those  to 
whom  the  gospel  has  been  preached  and  who  are 
therefore  "  under  the  law  to  Christ."  These  last  are 
commanded  to  "  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
These  last  are  under  the  law  of  faith,  but  the  others 


32  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

are  for  a  season  under  the  law  of  works,  "  For  there 
is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God.  For  as  many  as 
have  sinned  without  law  shall  be  punished  without 
law,  and  as  many  as  have  sinned  with  law  shall  be 
punished  by  law,  for  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just 
before  God  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified. 
For  when  the  Gentiles,  which  have  no  law,  do  by  nature 
the  things  of  the  law,  these,  having  no  law,  are  a  law 
unto  themselves,  in  that  they  show  the  work  of  the  law 
written  in  their  hearts,  their  consciences  bearing  witness 
and  their  thoughts  one  with  another  accusing  or  else 
excusing  them."  Rom.  ii:  11-15.  Before  Peter 
comes  to  Cornelius  this  is  the  universal  principle  of 
Divine  judgment.  Nor  does  the  gospel  essentially 
alter  this  principle.  The  faith  demanded  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  so  far  from  making  void  the  law,  the 
rather  establishes  it.  It  is  only  another  form  of  obe- 
dience required  in  order  to  secure  obedience  to  the 
law  of  righteousness.  This  second  call  of  Christ  to 
faith  is  made  in  order  to  make  effectual  the  first  call 
to  repentance  and  to  good  works. 

There  may  be  sporadic  cases  which  indicate  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  limited  in  his  sanctifying  opera- 
tions to  the  sphere  of  visible  human  agency  but 
they  do  not  invalidate  the  general  principle  that  He 
ordinarily  works  in  conjunction  with  the  written  or 
spoken  Word.  These  cases  are  the  exceptions  which 
prove  the  rule.  To  argue  from  this  that  God  is  a 
sovereign,  who  acknowledges  no  such  law  as  that  of 
the  necessity  of  human  co-operation  in  the  salvation 
of  the  world,  would  be  hke  arguing  from  the  existence 


OBSERVATIONS    THROUGH    THE    FIELD    GLASS         33 

of  comets  and  meteors  that  there  was  no  law  regulat- 
ing the  revolution  of  the  planets. 

The  deliverance  of  those  who  in  every  nation  are 
"  shut  up  under  a  law  until  faith  come  "  is  at  best  but 
partial.  They  may  be  saved  from  "  the  bondage  to 
fear"  and  yet,  as  Paul  says  concerning  the  Jews  of 
his  day  who  were  out  of  Christ,  they  differ  nothing 
from  servants  though  they  were  heirs  of  all.  And 
this  because  they  were  in  slavery  to  other  things,  those 
very  things  to  which  the  whole  creation  was  made 
subject.  Romans  viii:  20-23.  These  are  "vanity," 
"  corruption,"  "  pain."  Both  Jew  and  Gentile  under 
law  have  no  true  soul-liberty.  They  are  empty  of  the 
love  of  God.  "  He  tfiat  loveth  not  knoweth  not 
God."  Without  the  Holy  Spirit  given  to  shed  abroad 
that  love  in  their  hearts,  their  repentance,  their  justi- 
fication is  not  "  unto  life. "  Eternal  life  will  come  only 
as  a  late  gift  at  the  end  of  their  days  to  those  "  who 
by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for  honor 
and  glory  and  immortality?"  Why.?  Because  they 
seek  not  these  things  by  faith.  Now  "  faith  cometh 
by  hearing  and  hearing  by  the  Word  of  God." 

Furthermore,  send  them  this  Word  of  God  and  you 
add  to  all  the  probabilities  of  obedience.  Here  is  a 
principle  on  which  we  act  in  education.  "  Knowledge 
is  power"  for  good  or  evil  but  experience  proves  that 
where  this  knowledge  embraces  moral  and  religious 
truth  it  is  in  the  majority  of  cases  a  blessing  and  not  a 
curse  to  its  possessor.  "  Where  ignorance  is  bliss 
't  is  folly  to  be  wise"  but  echo  is  apt  to  answer 
"  where."     We  also  act  on  this  principle  in  business. 


34  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

"Nothing  succeeds  like  success."  Advertising,  like 
missionary  contributions,  seems  like  a  waste  of  money 
but  it  is  not  a  waste  to  the  man  who  thereby  finds  a 
new  market  for  his  goods  or  establishes  a  national 
reputation.  "  He  that  hath  to  him  shall  more  be 
given."  A  little  knowledge,  a  little  religion,  are  each 
dangerous  things.  "  Drink  deep  or  taste  not  the  Pierian 
spring."  As  "the  destruction  of  the  poor  is  their 
poverty  "  so  the  peril  of  the  heathen  is  not  in  sending 
to  them  the  new  light  of  Christianity  which  demands 
so  .much  more  of  them  than  their  old  faiths,  but  rather 
in  leaving  them  to  perish  by  the  weight  of  their  own 
spiritual  ignorance. 

Practically,  then,  the  old  question  returns.  How  can 
the  heathen  be  saved  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
gospel  ?  "  How  can  they  call  on  Him  in  whom  they 
have  not  believed  and  how  can  they  believe  in  Him 
of  whom  they  have  not  heard  and  how  can  they  hear 
without  a  preacher  and  how  can  they  preach  except 
they  be  sent .''  "  The  Word  of  God  is  the  instrument 
of  the  soul's  regeneration  and  sanctification  and  that 
Word  must  be  carried  to  the  heathen  as  Peter  carried 
it  to  Cornelius.  The  Holy  Ghost  did  not  fall  till 
Peter  came.  That  was  God's  order  in  the  first  cen- 
tury and  it  is  God's  order  also  in  the  nineteenth.  The 
modern  question  is  not  so  much  how  can  they  be 
saved  without  us  as  how  can  we  be  saved  without 
them,  /.  e.,  unless  we  either  send  or  go  to  them. 
God  has  provided  some  better  thing  for  his  church 
than  that  we  should  merely  receive  a  good  report 
through  the  exercise  of  personal  faith.     Some  of  the 


OBSERVATIONS   THROUGH   THE   FIELD   GLASS        35 

heathen  themselves  may  do  that  well  without  us. 
But  God  does  not  intend  that  either  they  without  us 
or  we  without  them  should  be  made  perfect. 

Having  considered  the  world's  need  in  the  light  of 
its  spiritual  condition  without  Christ  let  us  now  look 
at  the  vast  number  of  those  thus  destitute  of  the  gos- 
pel. "  The  population  of  the  world,"  says  Dr.  A.  T, 
Pierson,  "  is  reckoned  at  about  fifteen  millions.  Of 
these  at  least  one-half  are  yet  in  the  deep  dark  death- 
shade,  not  only  unconverted  but  unevangelized,  that 
is,  unreached  by  the  gospel  message.  That  the  pic- 
ture may  not  be  painted  in  the  discouraging  colors  of 
the  pessimist  or  with  the  gloomy  undertone  of  despond- 
ency let  us  concede  that  only  this  half  of  the  race  remain 
to  be  delivered  out  of  the  darkness  of  spiritual  death. 
How  are  we  to  bring  every  soul  of  these  750  millions 
of  mankind  to  the  knowledge  of  a  crucified  Christ  ?  " 

The  missionary  operations  of  the  first  century  are 
to  those  of  the  nineteenth  what  the  caravels  of 
Columbus  are  to  the  "  ocean  greyhounds,"  the  Cunard 
steamers  of  today.  The  gospel  was  preached  then  in 
every  nation  under  the  heaven  and  came  unto  all  the 
world.  But  the  known  world  of  Paul's  day  was  to  the 
world  of  today  as  Palestine,  one  small  province,  was  to 
the  whole  Roman  empire.  Missions  in  the  apostolic 
age  were  simply  the  trial  trip  of  the  old  ship  Zion.  It 
was  like  Peter's  visit  to  Samaria  and  Caesarea.  Ours 
is  the  true  age  of  missions.  And,  concerning  the  great 
commission,  it  is 

"  Our's  not  to  make  reply, 
Our's  not  to  reason  why — 
Ours  bat  to  do  or  die," 


36  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

only    that    the    world     may    be    conquered   for    our 
King. 

Three  times  the  call  came  to  Peter.  "  What  God 
hath  cleansed,  call  not  thou  common."  Three  times 
the  call  has  been  given  in  history.  Once  it  was  only  to 
those  who  had  been  bidden  to  the  feast.  Those  who 
heard  the  voice  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  were  certainly 
highly  favored  invited  guests.  But  the  Master  of  the 
house,  being  angry  at  that  ancient  world  which  perse- 
cuted more  than  it  had  received  His  son,  issues  the 
second  command  "  Go  out  into  the  streets  and  lanes 
of  the  city  and  bring  in  hither  the  poor,  the  maimed, 
the  halt  and  the  blind."  And  the  servant,  the  Chris- 
tian church,  did  as  He  commanded,  for,  when  the 
cities  of  Greece  and  Italy  were  overrun  by  those  bar- 
barians of  the  north,  poor  and  consequently  envious  of 
the  prosperity  of  Rome,  maimed,  as  all  semi-savage 
races  are,  and  halt  and  blind,  ignorant  of  the  arts  and 
sciences  of  civilized  life,  the  Christian  bishops  and 
clergy  went  forth  to  meet  the  invaders  and  preached 
Christ  to  them.  And  we  today  are  the  fruits  of  these 
Gothic  missions.  But  now  the  third  call  comes  "  Go 
out  into  the  by-ways  and  the  hedges  "  of  the  East  Indian 
villages,  the  China  towns,  the  Japanese  settlements  of 
these  far  off  countries  and  *'  compel  them  to  come  in. " 
God  grant  that  the  church  may  hear  this  last  call  be- 
fore the  Lord  of  the  harvest  comes. 


PREFIX  TO  CHAPTER  III 


^^  And  while  Peter  was  much  perplexed  'in  hiynself  what  the 
vision  which  he  had  seen  might  jnean,  behold,  the  men  that  were 
sent  by  Cornelius,  having  made  inquiry  for  Simon's  house,  stood 
before  the  gate ,  and  called  and  asked  whether  Simoft,  which  was 
stirttatned Peter,  were  lodging  there." — Acts  x:  17,  18. 

"  God  is  teaching  both  men,  drawing  them  off  into  the  realm  of 
vision,  where  they  can  be  more  effectually  molded  to  the  Divine 
uses.  Sleep  is  not  vacant  of  spiritual  impression.  God  giveth 
his  beloved,  not  sleep,  but  '/«  sleep.'  Into  that  mystery  of 
physical  repose  that  unbars  the  doors  of  the  mind  and  withdraws 
the  sentry  of  the  will,  the  spirit  may  come  as  unto  its  own  and 
say  what  it  could  not  when  the  man  is  hedged  about  with  wake- 
ful and  watchful  powers.  Shakespeare  puts  the  deepest  moral 
experience  of  evil  men  into  their  dreams;  why  not  also  into  those 
of  the  good? 

The  fundamental  Christian  idea  is  God  seeking  man,  not  man 
seeking  God;  the  latter  phrase  represents  a  subordinate  idea. 
It  is  not  a  search  after  God,  but  a  revelation  of  God.  The 
grand  movement  and  impulse  are  on  the  Divine  side.  We  our- 
selves can  find  nothing;  we  can  only  take  what  comes,  the  un- 
veiling of  Divinity,  careful  only  lest  anything  revealed  escape 
our  notice. 

I  do  not  think  the  best  thought  is  now  stumbhng  over  miracle, 
as  it  was  a  few  years  ago.  Modern  intelligence  has  grown  so 
wide  that  it  embraces  both  law  and  miracle  in  one  harmony  and 
cares  little  to  find  any  line  of  demarkation  between  them. 
Law  fades  out  into  miracle  and  miracle  runs  up  into  law.  No 
one  now  defines  one  as  the  violation  of  another.  An  assertion 
of  "the  reign  of  law"  does  not  disturb  us  so  long  as  we  are 
conscious  of  the  hourly  miracles  wrought  by  personality." 

— T.  T.  MUNGER. 


Frances  Eidlky  Havergal. 


The  Sovereignty  of  God. 


W.  D.  G. 


=M 


m 


^ 


*=j=j 


^ 


M 

^ 


God  Al-might-y  I  King  of  na-tio 
Life  and  death  are  in  Thy  keep- 
Reigning,  guiding,  all-com-mand 
Working  all  things  by  Thy  pow 
In  Thy  sovereignty  re-joic' 
With  Thy  heart  of  sovereign  mer 


^    Cres        -        cen        -        do.    f 
as !  earth  Thy  foot-stool,  heav'n  Thy  throiw! 
ing,  and  Thy  will    or-dain-eth   all, 
•ing,  rul-ing  myr-iad  worlds  of  light; 
-er,   by  the  coun-sel    of   Thy  will  ; 
•ing,  we,  Thy  children,  bow  and  praise; 
-cy,  and  Thine  arm  of  sovereign  might, 


-^^ 


m 


'J 

v-l- 


-i^- 


%U- 


--& 


^-- 


r^- 


m 


Rallentando. 

Thine  the  great-ness,  pow'r  and  glo-ry,  Thine  the  kingdom,  Lord,  a-lone  ! 
Now  ex  -  alt  -  ing,  now   a  -  bas-ing,  none  can  stay  Thy  hand  of  might! 
For     we  know  that  kind  and   lov-ing,  just  and  true,  are  all   Thj^  ways 


^ 


3^£^ 


^:^^fi^i 


r=^ 


ii^i^iig^^^p 


From  the  arm-ies  of  Thy  heavens  to  an  un-seen  in-sect's  fall. 
Thou  art  God!  e-noughto  know  it,  and  to  hear  Thy  word  "Be  still  I  ' 
For   our  great  and  strong  sal-va  -  tion,  in  Thy  sovereign  grace  u  -  nite. 


g2EJEEg=C=f_-ltzt-=&t:^£sFE^E=£^f==H 


i=T-t-:"^-\ri-i~i-i- 


Chorus. 


'^i^^^^^^^m 


'P  tempo.  [/  ^" 

God   Al-might-y!  King  of   na-tions  !  earth  Thy  foot-stool,heaT'D  Thy  throne! 


^^^^E^^^mtx^x^m 


^rg-g-r 


1/        t^  -•-     -»-     -#-     ^      N        ^Rau     .     tt      -     cr*,.    t 


t/       '^  Roll     -     e<      -     cr*9.   f 
Thine  the  greatness,  pow'r  and  glo-ry,  Thine  the  kingdom.  Lord,  a-lone! 


^^^^^t$^^^^^ 


CHAPTER  III. 
VISITORS   AT   headquarters;    or,    concerning  the 

SUPERNATURAL. 

We  live  in  an  age  where  it  is  the  fashion  to  discuss 
the  subject  of  rehgion.  From  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth,  the  representatives  of  every  rehgion  of  every 
land  have  met  in  a  "  World's  Congress  of  Religions." 
Never  before  in  the  history  of  mankind  was  such  a 
scene  witnessed  and  never  before,  probably,  has  soci- 
ety, in  the  person  of  its  more  alert  and  active  minds, 
apparently  been  more  exercised  concerning  unseen 
and  eternal  things.  It  can  not  be  possible  that  any 
one  who  is  at  all  observant  of  passing  events  can  have 
altogether  escaped  the  contagion  of  the  religious  dis- 
cussion that  is  in  the  air.  Either  an  incoming  tide  of 
faith  or  an  outgoing  tide  of  scepticism  has  caught  every 
thinking  man  and  carried  him  either  nearer  ashore  or 
farther  out  to  sea  as  regards  the  greatest  questions 
which  can  engage  the  attention  of  the  human  mind. 

It  is  fortunate  for  the  Christian  teacher  that  this 
should  be  so.  It  is  a  happy  circumstance,  favorable 
to  the  successful  prosecution  of  his  calling,  that  the 
very  spirit  of  the  times  should  conspire  with  a  natural 
human  interest  to  lead  men,  as  Cornelius  was  led,  to 
"  think  on  these  things."  This  general  interest  in  re- 
ligion is  a  good  angel  which  will  send  men  to  Peter 

39 


40  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

that  they  may  hear  "  words  of  him."  These  hearers 
may  be  spiritually  ignorant  or  even  infidel,  yet  the  true 
teacher  of  Christ  will  rejoice  that  men  have  come  to 
think,  even  though  they  doubt,  and  to  inquire  when 
they  do  not  understand.  He  will  rejoice  in  the  hope 
that  the  doubter  may  at  length  become  a  believer  and 
the  inquirer  sometime  understand. 

He  may  more  reasonably  hope  for  this  result  if 
he  himself  believe,  7indersta7id^n<l  obey  the  truth  which 
has  been  revealed  to  him.  He  must  not  doubt  the 
reality  of  his  own  experience,  as  Peter  was  at  first 
tempted  to  do.  The  preacher  must  also  inquire  "  what 
the  vision  which  he  has  seen  should  mean,"  and  he 
must  expect  that,  if  not  "  disobedient  to  the  heavenly 
vision,"  new  demonstrations  of  the  Spirit  will  be 
granted  him  as  he  comes  into  closer  relation  with  the 
souls  whom  he  would  instruct  in  the  way  of  life.  He 
may  then  be  prepared  to  meet  the  three-fold  inquiry 
of  our  day  concerning  the  supernatural. 

1 .  Are  there  genuine  cases  of  the  supernatural }  If  so 

2.  What  conclusion  shall  we  form  concerning 
them,  what  is  their  philosophy  } 

3.  "  Cui  bono  }  "  What  is  the  final  cause  or  pur- 
pose of  the  supernatural .? 

As  to  the  first  of  these  questions,  as  we  meditate,  we 
fancy  we  hear  three  men  knocking  at  our  study  door. 
They  are  men  of  our  time.  They  are  called  the  Material- 
ist, the  Positivist,  the  Agnostic.  The  first  denies  the  su- 
pernatural, because  he  denies  there  is  anything  but  mat- 
ter in  the  universe,  that  there  is  any  independent  mind 
anywhere.     The  second  says  it  is  no  matter  whether 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  4 1 

there  is  or  not,  he  will  exercise  his  mind  only  on  matter. 
There  is  nothing  worthy  of  study  or  investigation  but 
scientific  phenomena.  The  third  has  no  mind  on  the 
subject.  The  Agnostic  knows  nothing  about  the  super- 
natural and  is  more  or  less  content,  like  his  brother 
the  Positivist,  to  remain  in  ignorance.  These  men, 
it  is  evident,  are  not  very  earnest  inquirers,  yet  we 
must  treat  their  real  or  professed  indifference  with 
respect. 

That  God  should  reveal  Himself  at  all  is  a  first  fact 
supernatural  in  itself.  The  external  proofs  of  this 
revelation  are  indeed  worthy  of  the  most  careful  and 
critical  examination,  but  they  are  not  likely  to  carry 
deep  conviction  to  the  rhind  that  has  not  sufficiently 
considered  the  fact  of  the  Divine  existence  in  its  pri- 
mary relations  to  the  human  mind.  If  God  is  abso- 
lute in  the  sense  of  being  unrelated  to  us,  then  it  is 
obvious  that  He  can  not  communicate  His  will.  He 
can  not  reveal  Himself  to  the  finite,  and  we  are  shut 
up  within  ourselves  and  shut  out  forever  from  all  com- 
munion with  the  Infinite. 

There  are  some  to-day  who  embrace  this  dark  creed, 
although  the  three  men  who,  in  the  last  century, 
stood  as  its  sponsors  are  now  a  long  time  dead  and  only 
their  ghosts  haunt  the  minds  of  the  modern  thinker. 
They  were  once  known  as  the  Rationalist,  the  Deist 
and  the  Pantheist.  "  God  has  left  us  to  do  our  own 
thinking,"  said  the  Rationalist;  "  God  has  left  us  to 
take  care  of  ourselves,"  said  the  Deist;  "  God  has  not 
left  us,"  said  the  Pantheist.  "  He  is  nearer  to  us  than 
breathing,  closer  than  hands  or  feet,"  because  He  is 


42  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

we  and  we  are  He  and  all  are  one.  God  is  every- 

body and  everything,  and  at  last  we  shall  all  fall  back 
into  the  great  abyss  of  nothingness  from  which  we 
came. 

According  to  this  conception  God  is  like  that  idol 
Baal  whom  the  prophet  Elijah  ironically  described  as 
one  who  was  either  "  musing"  (this  is  the  rationalistic 
conceit)  "  or  he  is  gone  aside,  or  he  is  in  a  journey" 
(this  is  the  deistic),  "  or  perad venture  he  sleepeth  and 
must  be  awaked"  (this  is  the  pantheistic). 

As  for  those,  however,  who  can  not  believe  that  the 
eternal  God  is  a  silent,  non-communicative  Brahm,  it 
is  not  unreasonable  to  believe  that  He  has  spoken  to 
man.  But  once  admit  the  voice  and  all  other  wonders 
cease  to  be  such.  It  is  as  easy  for  the  everlasting  God 
to  rend  the  rocks,  as  he  did  at  Horeb,  as  to  come  out 
of  His  eternal  solitude  and  speak  to  man.  It  is  as  easy 
for  Him  to  break  the  silence  of  the  everlasting  hills 
through  the  voice  of  a  tempest,  as  He  also  did  at  Sinai, 
as  to  whisper  in  the  still,  small  voice  of  love  to  a  human 
heart. 

In  fact,  revelation,  defined  as  the  communication  of 
God  with  man,  is  impossible  unless  the  chasm  which 
isolates  spirits  is  bridged  over  by  some  frame-work  of 
signs  and  symbols  which  shall  furnish  the  media  of 
thought-transference.  Whether  these  be  vocal  sounds, 
or  visible  shapes  or  a  more  subtle  language  be  em- 
ployed, it  is  impossible  to  reach  the  understanding  of 
flesh-bound  creatures  without  some  play  upon  a  mate- 
rial organ  with  which  the  soul  shall  be  in  interaction. 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  43 

"  The  soul  is  the  harper,"  the  ancients  said  and  not 
the  harp  or  the  music  of  the  harp,  yet  the  music  of 
thought  requires  an  eye  or  ear  which  are  proper  instru- 
ments of  this  music.  How  a  pure  spirit,  such  as  God 
is,  can  touch  the  brain  of  man,  whether  through  a 
visible  or  verbal  revelation  or  through  the  inspiration 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  a  mystery  and  a  miracle  quite  as 
great,  though  no  greater,  than  the  mystery  of  the 
relation  of  soul  and  body,  mind  and  brain. 

That  God  should  speak  to  man  is  no  more  wonder- 
ful in  itself  than  that  man  should  speak  to  man.  In 
the  process  of  oral  communication  the  hearer  but 
reads  off  the  vocal  signs  made  by  the  speaker,  as  the 
telegraph  operator  reads  his  alphabet  or  his  cypher 
and  translates  them  into  mental  conceptions  which 
bear  no  possible  physical  resemblance  to  these  symbols 
which  suggest  them.  All  language  is  symbolism,  all 
speech  is  spiritual  and   hence  supernatural. 

Granting  then,  the  possibility  of  revelation  as  super- 
natural, why  should  it  not  be  embodied  in  a  book  ? 
Why  should  it  not  be  a  written  as  well  as  spoken  or 
seen  revelation  ?  If  the  Bible  be  a  record  in  the  main  of 
supernatural  events  and  truths,  if  there  be  abundant  evi- 
dence to  support  this  main  proposition,  then  the  particu- 
lar stories  of  miraculous  doings  and  sayings  which  it 
contains  are  not  to  be  caviled  at,  forsooth,  because  to 
this  or  that  mind  they  seem  inherently  incredible. 
The  Bible  stories  are  but  corollaries  to  the  main  pro- 
position, and,  however  capable  of  independent  proof, 
are  yet  carried  by  the  weight  of  the  main  argument. 

It  is  possible  to  explain  some  of  these  things  as  due 


44  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

to  natural  causes.  "  Peter's  vision,"  says  Robertson, 
"  evidently  in  its  form  and  in  its  direction  was  the 
result  of  previous  natural  circumstances.  The  death 
of  Stephen  must  have  had  its  effect  on  the  Apostle's 
mind.  The  truth  for  which  he  died,  the  transient 
character  of  Judaism,  must  have  suggested  strange 
new  thoughts  to  be  pondered  on  and  doubted  on;  add 
to  this,  the  Apostle  was  in  a  state  of  hunger.  In 
ecstasy,  or  trance  or  vision  things  meet  for  food  pre- 
sented themselves  to  his  mental  eye.  Evidently  the 
form  in  which  this  took  place  was  shaped  by  his  phy- 
sical cravings,  the  direction  depended  partly  upon  his 
previous  thoughts  concerning  the  opening  question  of 
the  church.  But  the  eternal  truth,  the  spiritual  verity 
conveyed  by  the  vision,  was  clearly  of  a  higher  source. 
Here  are  the  limits  of  the  natural  and  the  supernatural 
closely  bordering  on  each  other." 

But  if  the  law  of  association  of  ideas  will  explain 
Peter's  vision  we  are  at  a  loss  to  see  how  it  can  ex- 
plain Cornelius's.  Both  men  saw  visions.  But  the 
latter  was  not  half  asleep  or  anhungered  when  he  saw 
the  angel.  He  saw  him  "  evidently."  Nor  could  his 
previous  thoughts  have  anticipated  such  a  message. 
When  he  saw  him  he  was  "affrighted."  Cornelius' 
vision,  even  more  than  Peter's,  is  a  case  of  the  super- 
natural. 

Nor  can  the  evolutionist  dispense  with  the  super- 
natural. "  There  are  secrets  gradually  unfolded  in  the 
worlds  of  mind  and  matter  the  slow  disclosure  of  which 
is  appointed  to  be  the  aim  and  reward  of  human 
science."     But  it  is  otherwise  with  the  secret  things 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  45 

of  God,  They  have  been  slowly  disclosed,  it  is  true, 
but  they  have  been  revealed,  not  discovered.  It  may 
be  well  to  emphasize  this  fact  in  these  days  when  the 
scientific  doctrine  of  evolution  is  brought  forward  to 
explain  the  origin  of  man's  Bible  as  well  as  man  him- 
self. The  Bible,  it  is  said,  is  the  accretion  of  ages. 
As  man  is  the  last  result  of  a  process  of  develope- 
ment  which  had  been  going  on  for  measureless  spaces 
of  time  before  him,  so  the  Bible  is  the  final  product 
of  man's  growing  intelligence  concerning  Divine 
things.  It  came  of  his  education  which  it  took 
thousands  of  years  to  complete.  Now,  if  by  education 
be  meant  education  Divinely  directed  and  inspired 
this  seems  to  be  a  true  account  of  the  matter.  We 
may  make  all  the  admissions  which  a  true  theory  of 
evolution,  as  applied  to  the  Scriptures,  may  demand 
and  yet  hold  to  their  Divine  inspiration  as  firmly  as  we 
hold  to  the  doctrine  of  creation.  The  world  was  not 
made  in  a  day,  but  it  was  created,  not  evolved  out  of 
pre-existent  matter.  So  the  Bible  was  revealed,  not 
evolved  out  of  man's  inner  consciousness.  "  Of  a 
truth  I  perceive  "  said  Peter — after,  not  before  God 
taught  him.  It  is  true  there  is  a  progress  of  doctrine 
and  experience  traceable  in  Scripture  just  as  there  is 
a  progress  in  species  of  life  from  mollusk  and  radiate 
to  the  human  race.  But  how  does  this  affect  our 
faith  that  God  conducted  this  progress  and  is  the 
author  of  all  the  successive  orders  and  genera  of 
animal  life.  He  presided  during  all  the  geological 
epochs.     So  He  was  present  in  all  the  dispensations. 


46  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

Indeed  there  is  a  close  analogy  between  creation 
and  revelation  as  to  their  supernatural  character.  As 
revelation  must  bridge  over  the  chasm  that  isolates 
spirits,  so  creation  must  cross  the  gulf  that  separates 
thought  from  being,  the  ideal  from  the  world  of 
reality.  Creation  is  a  much  higher  effort  than  com- 
munion of  thought  and  yet  an  effort  of  a  similar  kind. 
If  original  thinkers  be  called  creators,  how  much 
rather  He  who  casts  all  the  worlds  of  his  conception 
into  the  molds  of  objective  existence.  Nor  is  this  a 
manufacture,  even  in  the  sense  of  the  evolutionist. 
Not  even  the  germ  of  thought  is  given  to  the  great 
Thinker,  not  even  the  material  for  his  wondrous 
works.  "  He  spake  and  it  was  done,  He  commanded 
and  it  stood  fast."  This  is  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of 
creation.     And  this  is  the  supernatural. 

Now,  if  our  friends,  the  Materialist,  the  Positivist, 
the  Agnostic,  would,  like  Isaac  and  the  two  servants 
of  Abraham,  but  go  to  the  top  of  this  "  Mount  of  the 
Lord,"  called  Holy  Scripture,  they  would,  like  Abra- 
ham himself,  hear  a  voice  calling  to  them  out  of  the 
midst  of  the  bush,  and  that  voice  would  be  recognized 
as  the  voice  of  the  supernatural.  Indeed,  they  would 
recognize  it  as  the  same  voice  that  called  to  Moses  out 
of  the  burning  bush;  for  all  Nature  is  alive  and  aflame 
with  the  supernatural,  and  all  the  ground  on  which  we 
stand  is  holy. 

II. — But  no  sooner  are  these  callers  dismissed  than 
another  group  of  inquirers  knock  at  our  door.  They 
come  to  ask  the  old  question,  "  how  can  these  things 
be  ?"     In  justice  to  these  gentlemen  be  it  said,  they 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  47 

have  no  learned  degrees,  they  bear  no  high-sounding 
names.  They  are  every-day  people  whom  one  meets 
on  the  street.  We  call  them  the  Scoffer,  the  Super- 
stitious Believer  and  the  Sceptic.  As  they  have  no 
titles,  neither  do  they  deserve  them  for  they  have 
not  yet  graduated.  "  Everything,  nothing,  some  tiling, 
enough,''  says  Joseph  Cook,  "  these  are  the  Freshman, 
Sophomore,  Junior  and  Senior  years  in  the  curriculum 
of  religious  culture."  The  Scoffer  is  a  Freshman,  the 
Superstitious  Believer,  a  Sophomore,  the  Sceptic,  a 
Junior,  but  none  of  them  have  reached  the  Senior 
year.  They  are  representatives  of  those  Jews  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  some  of  whom  mocked,  saying, 
"  These  men  are  filled  with  new  wine,"  others  were 
amazed,  still  others  were  perplexed,  saying  one  to 
another,  "  what  meaneth  this  }  " 

What  shall  we  say  to  these  men  ?  That  man  him- 
self is  a  supernatural  being.  The  question  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  miracles  we  regard  as  settled  in  advance  by 
the  fact  of  the  question  being  asked;  for,  without  a  cer- 
tain independent  power  over  the  operations  of  his  own 
mind,  as  well  as  over  living  matter  in  the  form  of  a 
physical  organism,  neither  Mr.  Hume,  nor  any  other 
sceptic  could  have  given  thought  or  voice  to  the  ques- 
tion itself.  This  denial  is  unreasonable,  because  reason 
itself,  while  bound  by  the  chain  of  the  flesh  and  con- 
ditioned as  to  its  exercise  by  the  physical  laws,  must 
yet  have  a  certain  liberty  in  its  prison.  There  can  be 
no  true  thought-life  without  freedom.  A  flow  of 
images  is  not  thought.  It  may  be  reverie,  but  reverie 
is  not  reason.    It  may  be. fancy,  but  fancy  is  not  imag- 


48  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

ination.  These  latter  are  voluntary,  because  selective 
and  creative  acts.  In  the  exercise  of  thought  proper 
the  chaos  of  mental  impressions  is  reduced  to  order 
by  the  mind's  own  power  of  organization.  The  mind 
is  not  controlled  by  any  "  law  of  the  association  of 
ideas,"  but  determines  its  own  states.  It  has  power 
over  itself,  over  its  own  day-dreams.  Possessed  of 
this  power  it  is  free;  it  can  construct  an  argument  or 
write  a  poem,  or  produce  any  other  equally  original 
work.  But  to  say  that  the  mind  is  free,  is  to  say  that  it 
is  supernatural,  i.  e.,  not  under  the  mechanical  law  of 
cause  and  effect. 

Again,  with  all  his  high  gifts,  man,  bereft  as  he  is  of 
instinct,  is  the  most  helpless  of  creatures,  and  made 
almost  utterly  dependent  upon  his  own  resources  for 
the  supply  of  even  his  lowest  wants.  It  is  manifest, 
then,  that  if  he  had  no  power  of  first  cause  as  well  as 
the  power  to  avail  himself  of  those  second  causes  which 
surround  him  in  nature  he  must  perish  from  the  earth. 

But  of  course  this  idea  of  the  supernatural  is  so  at 
variance  with  the  common  notion  that,  upon  first 
presentation,  it  may  seem  as  if  we  were  evading  the 
real  issue,  and  harping  upon  the  trite  and  common- 
place. But  not  so.  The  real  point  of  the  whole 
problem  hinges  upon  the  mystery  of  the  relation  of 
mind  and  matter,  of  which  we  have  the  most  con- 
spicuous though  common  illustration  in  the  relation  of 
the  human  mind  and  body.  Grant  that  man  himself 
is  a  miracle  and  can  do  supernatural  things,  can 
change  the  very  face  of  the  world,  and  who  will  have 
the  hardihood  to  deny  that  God  can  do  likewise. 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  49 

If  these  three  men  were  truly  wise  they  would  see, 
like  the  men  who  came  from  the  East  seeking  the 
infant  Saviour,  the  star  of  the  supernatural,  not  only  in 
the  sky  above  their  heads,  "  traveling  in  the  greatness 
of  its  strength,"  to  which  all  the  other  stars  of  heaven 
would  make  obeisance,  as  Joseph  saw  them  doing  in  his 
dream,  but  they  would  also  see  this  star  before  their 
own  faces,  and,  more  than  all,  they  would  see  it 
coming  and  "  standing  over  the  place  where  the 
young  child  lay." 

However,  we  believe  there  would  be  far  fewer 
skeptics  and  scoffers  in  the  world  but  for  the  baneful 
influence  of  three  other  men  who  now  approach  our 
study  door.  We  refer  to  three  gentlemen  whose 
advocacy  of  the  supernatural  has  done  the  cause  much 
evil,  viz.,  the  Dogmatist,  the  Literalist  and  the 
Pessimist.  It  is  only  by  a  strain  of  the  imagination 
that  we  can  conceive  of  these  men  knocking  at  any- 
body's door  for  light.  Scarcely,  then,  would  they 
condescend  to  visit  us.  They  belong  to  that  class  of 
men  who  seldom  learn  anything  new.  Nevertheless, 
if  not  for  their  sakes,  yet  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
may  be  warned  off  their  ground  we  may  say:  The 
supernatural  is  a  solemn,  awe-inspiring  fact,  for  God 
is  in  it.  Therefore,  we  should  hesitate  about  framing  a 
philosophy  of  God,  or  what  Carlyle  calls  a  "  Theorem 
of  the  Universe. "  This  is  more  foolish  than  Peter's  pro- 
posal on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  to  build  three 
tabernacles.  Men  who  build  theological  systems 
should  be  left  in  the  vale  below.  Imagine  them 
standing  on  that  holy  mountain.    When  the  Dogmatist 


50  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE   VISION 

joins  in  the  conversation  with  Moses  and  Ehas  about 
that  awful  "  decease  which  He  should  accomplish  at 
Jerusalem,"  he  must  needs  bring  forth  his  "  Theory  of 
the  Atonement."  And  when  the  Literalist  hears  the 
voice  out  of  the  cloud  saying:  "  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  hear  ye  Him,"  he  at  once  leaps  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  Old  Testament,  as  represented  by 
Moses  and  Elias  is  henceforth  to  be  heard  no  more. 
And  yet  they  spake  of  Christ.  The  Literalist  of  the 
old  school  was  for  believing  every  jot  and  tittle  of  the 
law,  ceremonial  as  well  as  moral,  equally  inspired,  but 
the  new  school  Literalist  goes  with  the  destructive 
critics  and  lays  aside  the  whole — because,  forsooth, 
there  are  verbal  inaccuracies  in  the  Pentateuch  and 
Psalms — Then  the  Pessimist  steps  forward  and  says: 
"  It  is  all  like  the  cloud  and  glory,  gone  almost  as 
soon  as  come.  The  Bible  is  all  true,  but  no  man  can 
live  up  to  its  teachings."  I  am  glad,  however,  that 
the  Word  says:  "  They  saw  no  man  save  Jesus  only, 
with  themselves.''  If  Peter  and  James  and  John  could 
walk  as  He  Vvalked  why  not  we,  even  though  we  are 
not  always  encompassed  by  a  cloud  of  glory. 

We  should  rather  trust  Faith  and  Love  and  Hope  in 
their  interpretations  of  the  supernatural  than  our 
friends  just  mentioned.  These  are  the  three  who  ran 
a  race  for  the  sepulchre  on  the  morning  of  the 
resurrection.  Hope,  in  the  person  of  Peter,  is  no 
doubting,  despairing  Thomas.  Faith,  in  the  person 
of  John,  pauses  on  the  edge  of  the  tomb  and  will  not 
intrude  as  far  as  Hope,  will  not  "  rush  in  where  angels 
fear  to  tread."     Faith  can  never  be  a  dogmatist,  for  it 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  51 

knows  not  what  secret  things  are  yet  to  be  revealed. 
Neither  can  Love  be  a  HteraHst.  "  The  letter  killeth, 
but  the  spirit  giveth  life."  Mary  Magdalene,  weeping 
at  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  mistakes  Jesus  for  the 
gardener,  but  her  heart  is  right,  and  to  all  such,  Jesus, 
the  true  supernatural,  will  sooner  or  later  surely  be 
revealed. 

III. — We  had  thought  we  were  done  with  inter- 
viewers. But,  as  we  think,  a  third  distinct  trio  of  vis- 
itors arrive.  They  come  to  inquire  into  the  zvhy  of  the 
supernatural.  They  style  themselves  the  Artist,  the 
Scientist,  the  Philanthropist — worshippers,  as  they  de- 
clare of  the  eternal  beauty,  truth  and  goodness  that 
is  in  the  world.  We  very  much  fear  that  these  words 
are  abstractions  with  them  rather  than  concrete  reali- 
ties, least  of  all  that  they  recognize  them  as  incarnate 
in  Him  who  was  the  "  Chief  among  ten  thousand  and 
the  One  altogether  lovely."  Yet  they  profess  to  be 
true  worshippers  of  God,  and  particularly  pride  them- 
selves on  being  above  all  fear,  since  they  have  discov- 
ered the  "reign  of  law"  and  free  from  all  vagaries 
of  the  imagination  since  the  realistic  in  art  has  come 
into  vogue  and  cherubs'  and  angels'  faces  are  out  of 
place  in  our  modern  paintings.  They  tell  us  that  the 
supernatural  is  an  interruption  of  that  perfect  order 
they  see  reigning  everywhere.  It  seems  to  them  a 
discord  in  "  the  music  of  the  spheres,"  a  broken  link 
in  the  chain  of  cause  and  effect,  an  explosion  in  the 
ranks  of  the  procession  of  orderly  natural  phenomena. 

It  seems  strange  to  us  that  whenever  the  super- 
natural is  allowed  to  have  control  of  the  forces  and 


52  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

instruments  of  nature  it  should  be  supposed  that  it 
will  in  some  way  work  disorder  if  not  mischief  and 
that  the  only  way  to  preserve  the  creation  from  fall- 
ing into  wreck  and  ruin  is  to  take  it  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  Creator.  Such  would  seem  to  be  the  assump- 
tion underlying  the  scientist's  objection  to  the  super- 
natural. He  would  dismiss  the  living  God  as  a  reck- 
less intruder  into  his  own  workshop.  And  similar  is 
the  assumption  of  the  philanthropist  who  would  hope 
to  succeed  in  making  the  world  better  without  the  aid 
of  a  supernatural  Gospel  and  of  the  artist  with  whom 
ideals  are  the  only  inspiration. 

Besides,  it  has  never  been  sufficiently  recognized 
that  both  in  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary  operations 
of  iniquity  on  this  earth  that  the  same  supernaturalism 
is  witnessed.  The  human  will  depraved  can  perform 
feats  of  mischief  and  prodigies  of  crime  that  challenge 
the  wonder  and  may  well  excite  the  alarm  of  all 
thoughtful  men.  Indeed,  the  supernatural  is  more 
manifest  in  this  realm  than  in  the  opposing  kingdom 
of  righteousness,  for  the  latter  means  law  and  order, 
but  sin  is  essential  lawlessness  and  the  wildest  disorder 
of  nature.  Hence  its  mighty  deeds  constitute  a  wider 
departure  from  the  customary,  where  custom  has  be- 
come established  in  forms  of  law  and  moral  practice, 
than  the  works  of  charity  and  faith,  where  these  have 
become  as  common  as  they  are  unostentatious. 

Now  we  say  the  true  supernatural  is  a  remedial  force 
in  the  world  in  the  interest  of  the  "  beauty  of  holi- 
ness "  and  the  highest  law  and  order.  Not  at  first, 
indeed,  does  it  bring  order  but  chaos,  as  in  Creation. 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  53 

"  The  earth  was  without  form  and  void  and  darkness 
v/as  upon  the  face  of  the  deep."  But  the  Spirit  of 
God,  a  supernatural  force,  brooded  upon  the  face  of 
the  waters  and  evoked  order  out  of  chaos.  Similarly, 
in  Providence.  When  the  angel  of  death  visits  our 
homes  we  fear  as  we  enter  into  the  cloud.  Yet,  if  at 
first  there  is  confusion  of  heart  and  tongue,  "  after- 
wards "  there  are  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness 
and  the  cloud  of  affliction  is  transfigured  into  a 
cloud  of  glory.  So  again,  in  the  kingdom  of  Grace. 
At  first  the  creature  is  "  made  subject  to  vanity,  not 
willingly,  but  by  reason  of  Him  who  has  subjected  the 
same  in  hope. "  At  first  the  revelation  of  spiritual  death, 
bondage,  but  "  afterward  "  the  "  spirit  of  life  in  Christ 
Jesus  sets  us  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." 
Here  in  human  sin  is  indeed  a  "  reign  of  law  "  but  it 
is  like  the  rule  of  Satan,  spiritual  anarchy.  To  redeem 
us  from  the  curse  of  this  law,  the  supernatural  Christ 
comes,  *'  the  King  in  his  beauty,"  to  put  down  all 
such  illegitimate  and  perilous  authority  and  rule.  The 
existence  of  bands  called  "regulars"  and  "militia" 
like  that  "  band  called  the  Italian  band  "  points  to  the 
strong  hand  of  a  higher  law  occasionally  introduced  to 
counteract  the  lower  law  of  mob  violence.  But  the 
supernatural  is  but  the  higher  law  of  Christ  introduced 
into  the  soul  to  quell  the  lower  law  of  sin  and  death. 
The  Gatling  gun  and  the  Gospel  are  in  this  respect,  at 
least,  alike.  The  philanthropist  and  patriot  have  need 
ot  both. 

Lest  you  may  think  it  is  a  theologian  only  who  is 
talking  about  this  anarchy  of  the  soul,  listen  to  the 
gifted  Byron. 


54  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

"Our  life  is  a  false  nature— 'tis  not  in 
The  harmony  of  things — this  hard  decree, 
This  ineradicable  taint  of  sin — 
This  boundless  Upas — this  all  blasting  tree, 
Whose  root  is  earth,  whose  leaves  and  branches  be 
The  skies  which  rain  their  plagues  on  man  like  dew; 
Disease,  death,  bondage,  all  the  woes  we  see 
And  e'en  the  woes  we  see  not  which  throb  thro' 
The  unmedicable  soul,  with  heartaches  ever  new." 

Similar  is  the  testimony  of  Shakespeare  as  to  the 
helplessness  of  man  without  the  supernatural. 

"Laboring  art  can  never  ransom  nature 
From  her  inaidable  estate;  I  say  we  must  not 
So  stain  our  judgment  or  corrupt  our  hope. 
To  prostitute  our  past-cure  malady 
To  empirics,  or  to  dissever  so 
Our  great  self  and  our  credit,  to  esteem 
A  senseless  help  when  help  past  sense  we  deem." 

Indeed,  so  enslaved  has  the  race  become  to  the 
power  of  sin  that  the  claim  of  sinlessness  on  the 
part  of  any  one  born  of  woman  is  as  inherently  in- 
credible as  miracles  appear  to  be  in  the  eyes  of  this 
scientific  generation.  Yet  this  same  generation  is 
quick  to  accord  to  Jesus  all  that  he  claims  in  this 
respect,  obviously  not  discerning  the  consequences  of 
such  an  admission.  For  if  the  Master  be  without  sin, 
his  conception,  birth,  life,  death,  in  a  word  his  whole 
character  and  career  must  have  been  supernatural. 
Moreover,  any  approximation  to  the  Savior's  character 
and  life  in  its  essential  moral  aspects  is  conceded  to  be 
impossible  to  flesh  and  blood  unassisted  by  supernatural 
grace.  But  if  Christ  and  his  Church  have  been  under 
this  supernatural  guidance  and  assistance  he  who  would 
seek  the  benefits  of  the  church  while  denying  the  super- 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  55 

natural  power  of  godliness  is  most  inconsistent  as  well 
as  ungrateful.  The  naturalist,  like  the  formalist,  is 
either  without  any  valid  claim  to  true  sanctity  or  he  has 
misplaced  his  claim  and  filed  it  away  in  the  wrong 
drawer.  It  belongs  in  the  pigeon-hole  of  the  super- 
natural. 

Now,  if  our  friends,  the  Artist,  the  Scientist,  the  Phi- 
lanthropist, prefer  to  worship  at  this  shrine  of  nature 
where  darkness,  death  and  destruction  are  to  be  the 
final  outcome  of  this  boasted  beauty  and  law  and 
order,  let  them  do  so,  but  let  them  understand  that 
the  forces  of  the  supernatural,  like  the  three  young  men, 
Aner,  Eshcol  and  Mamre,  who  were  Abraham's  com- 
panions in  arms  in  the,  war  in  which  he  took  part  for 
the  rescue  of  his  nephew  Lot,  are  engaged  in  a  great 
work  of  moral  deliverance,  a  work  that  is  not  against 
but  in  behalf  of  moral  law  and  order.  Let  them  not 
do  as  the  Priest  and  Levite  who  "  passed  by  on  the 
other  side."  Let  them  join  hands  with  that  "  power 
that  makes  for  righteousness"  in  the  world.  Let 
them  recognize  the  personality  of  that  power. 
Men  are  "going  down  to  Jericho"  daily  under  the 
power  of  the  gravitation  of  sin  and  are  "  fallen  among 
thieves"  in  the  shape  of  a  world  which  "  is  no  friend 
to  grace  to  help  us  on  to  God,"  they  are  being  stripped 
of  their  virtue,  wounded  in  spirit  and  are  left  half 
dead  as  far  as  self-help  can  go.  Will  these  men,  the 
Artist  and  Scientist,  make  it  their  only  business  to  be- 
hold and  not  be  up  and  doing  for  humanity's  help  ? 

We  know  these  men  are  much  aided  and  abetted 
in  their  indifference  by  three  other  men,  viz.,  the  Re- 


56  THE    ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

cluse,  the  Ritualist  and  the  merely  moral  Reformer. 
But  the  first  is  a  false  prophet,  for  his  voice  is  not 
heard  in  the  Wilderness  as  was  John  the  Baptist's. 
The  second  is  like  the  priest  who  must  not  fail  to 
stand  in  his  appointed  course  at  Jerusalem,  however 
many  men  by  the  wayside  need  "  mercy  rather  than 
sacrifice  "  and  the  third  is  a  king  without  a  sceptre  or 
a  rod  of  power.  Let  them  all,  like  the  three  men  who 
entered  Abraham's  tent  when  he  entertained  angels 
unawares,  show  a  hand  to  help  as  well  as  a  shining 
wing  and  the  Lots  will  all  be  rescued  even  though  the 
Sodoms  must  be  destroyed. 

IV. — "We  have  yet  to  meet  and  answer  if  we  can,  the 
last  group  of  inquirers.  They  also  are  men  of  our 
day,  but  they  are  dressed  in  ancient  garb.  They  are 
also  from  the  East.  That  they  are  wise  men,  how- 
ever, we  can  not  believe,  for  the  star  of  wisdom,  as  of 
empire,  in  modern  times  Westward  has  wended  its 
way.  This  star  is  "the  star  of  Bethlehem."  Chris- 
tianity and  not  "the  light  of  Asia"  is  our  guide. 
Doubtless,  in  entertaining  this  last  trio  of  visitors  we 
may  entertain  some  "  angels  unawares  "  as  Abraham 
did  of  old.  There  may  be  men  and  women  among 
the  Spiritualists,  the  Christian  Scientists  and  the  The- 
osophists,  who  are  as  devout  and  as  humane  as  any 
person  in  an  orthodox  communion,  but  if  so,  their 
hearts  are  better  than  their  creed.  Is  the  super- 
natural continued  today  in  the  form  of  spirit  return .'' 
Do  our  deceased  friends  revisit  the  earth  and  minister 
to  us,  is  the  question  raised  by  modern  spiritualism. 
Until  this  question  is  answered  by  the  "  Society  of 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  5/ 

Psychical  Research, "  working  according  to  the  scien- 
tific method,  we  may  meanwhile  appeal  "  to  the  law 
and  the  testimony.  If  they  speak  not  according  to  this, 
there  is  no  light  in  them."  Some  things  in  this  chap- 
ter of  the  Book  of  the  Acts,  to  go  no  farther,  seem  to 
point  to  the  conclusion  of  the  spiritualist. 

/.  The  angel  whom  Cornelius  saw  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  man. 

2.  He  addressed  him  familiarly,  "  Cornelius,"  and 
waited  for  a  reply,  quite  after  the  fashion  of  an  old 
acquaintance. 

J.  He  was  seen  "in  a  vision."  It  was  a  species 
of  clairvoyance. 

^.  He  knew  what-  was  going  on  in  the  country 
round  about.  "  Send  for  Peter,  he  lodgeth  with  one 
Simon,  a  tanner." 

But  here  the  evidence  ends.  Here  are  some  cir- 
cumstances which  point  to  an  opposite  conclusion. 

I.  Though  in  the  form  of  man,  he  may  not  have 
been  one  of  "  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect." 

The  distinction  the  Scriptures  make  between 
"angels"  and  "spirits"  (Acts  xxiii:  8;  Heb.  xii: 
22,  23)  does  not  consist  in  a  difference  of  form. 
Angels  can  not  be  a  higher  order  of  created  intelli- 
gences than  man  who  was  made  in  the  image  of  God. 
The  human  form  in  a  sense  is  Divine.  The  difference 
is  one  of  rank  in  the  same  order  and  of  holiness. 
There  are  angels  that  never  sinned.  There  is  no  man 
that  has  kept  his  first  estate.  Angels  can  not  preach 
the  gospel  because  they  can  not  "  testify."  They  can 
not  tell  any  experience  of  sin  and  redemption.      "  He 


58  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

commanded    us,"    said    Peter,    "  to   preach   unto  the 
people  and  to  testify.'' 

2.  This  angel  does  not  teach  the  things  of  God,  as 
most  professed  "  spirits  "  do,  but  says,  "  Send,  there- 
fore, to  Joppa,  and  call  for  one  Simon."  He  makes 
no  revelations  of  Heaven. 

3.  He  testified  through  the  mouth  of  Peter,  that 
"  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh."  Mark  the  words 
"  is  come." 

Christ  lived  in  the  pre-existent  state.  The  modern 
spirits  call  him  a  son  of  God   with  a  little  "  s. " 

4.  He  makes  no  further  engagements,  does  not 
through  familiarity  breed  contempt,  gives  no  name 
the  personal  identity  of  which  he  can  not  prove. 

5.  He  came  to  a  man  of  prayerful  spirit  and  habit, 
a  pious.  God-fearing,  well-reported,  upright  man.  He 
came  also  while  he  was  praying,  not  singing  "  Sweet 
by  and  by  "  in  a  promiscuous  company  of  people,  good, 
bad  and  indifferent. 

6.  He  was  praying  in  his  house  alone.  He  was 
his  own  medium. 

7.  He  was  seen  "evidently,"  in  broad  day-light, 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  not  in  a  darkened 
room  at  night. 

8.  He  was  "  an  holy  angel,"  not  a  "  demon." 

9.  He  was  ministering  to  one  of  the  heirs  of  sal- 
vation, not  making  infidels  and  atheists. 

10.  •  He  did  not  come  at  Cornelius'  beck  and  nod, 
but  at  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  him. 

1 1 .  We  are  compassed  about  by  such.  They 
are  looking  at  us,  but  we  are  to  look  unto  Jesus. 
Heb.  xii:  i,  3- 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  59 

12,  Cornelius  did  not  in  any  sense  worship  the 
angel.  He  said,  "  What  is  it,  sir  ?  "  Barnes'  transla- 
tion. 

Yet  there  is  a  Biblical  spiritualism. 
And  is  there  care  in  heaven  ?    And  is  there  love 

In  heavenly  spirits  to  these  creatures  base, 
That  may  compassion  of  their  evils  move  ? 

There  is — else  much  more  wretched  were  the  case 
Of  men  than  beasts;  but  O,  the  exceeding  grace 
Of  Highest  God  !  that  loves  His  creatures  so, 
And  all  his  works  with  mercy  doth  embrace, 

That  blessed  angels  he  sends  to  and  fro, 
To  serve  to  wicked  man,  to  serve  his  wicked  foe  ! 

How  oft  do  they  their  silver  bowers  leave. 

To  come  to  succour  us  that  succour  want ! 
How  oft  do  they  with  golden  pinions  cleave 

The  flitting  skyes  like  flying  pursuivant, 
Against  foule  fiendes  to  ayd  us  militant ! 

They  for  us  fight,  they  watch,  and  dewly  ward. 
And  their  bright  squadrons  round  about  us  plant; 

And  all  for  love,  and  nothing  for  reward; 
O,  why  should  heavenly  God  to  men  have  such  regard. 

— Spenser. 

With  such  a  spiritualism  as  this  "  we'll  taste 
e'en  here  the  hallowed  bliss  of  an  eternal  home." 

Concerning  Chris tiaft  Science. — "  Greater  works 
than  these  shall  ye  do"  said  Jesus  to  his  Apostles. 
What  were  these  "  greater  works  "  }  Surely  not  phys- 
ical marvels.  Paul,  the  greatest  of  the  Apostles  who 
"labored  more  abundantly  than  they  all"  wrought 
fewer  of  these  than  Peter.  Indeed,  in  his  ordinary 
intercourse  with  the  churches,  while  he  was  doing 
his  best  work,  he  seems  not  to  have  thought  of 
even  healing  the  sick.  He  left  Trophimus  at  Miletus 
sick  and  did  not  cure  Timothy  by  miraculous  means. 


60  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

"  For  whether  there  be  prophecies,  they  shall  fail; 
whether  there  be  tongues,  they  shall  cease;  whether 
there  be  knowledge  it  shall  be  done  away.  But  now 
abideth  faith,  hope,  love,  these  three,  but  the  greatest 
of  these  is  love." 

Concerning  Theosophy. — "  An  evil  and  adulterous 
generation  seeketh  after  a  sign."  Transmigration  of 
souls  was  not  taught  Peter  by  the  vision  of  the  sheet. 
It  is  not  the  animal  creation  that  "  groans  and  travails 
together  in  pain,"  but  the  human  race  thus  typified. 
Animals  do  not  suffer  as  much  as  men.  But  transmi- 
gration of  souls  is  better  than  the  modern  Pagan  dogma 
of  reincarnation  in  human  form.  Besides,  if  pain  is 
our  savior,  we  can  not  see  the  need  of  the  cleansing 
blood  of  Christ  nor  indeed  can  we  see  what  we  are  thus 
saved  from  at  all.  **  Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders, 
ye  will  not  believe."  "  He  is  not  here,  he  is  risen," 
said  the  angels  who  stood  with  Christ  at  the  door  of  the 
sepulchre.  These  latter,  like  the  stars  of  prophecy  and 
of  miracle,  lights  that  once  shone  in  a  dark  place,  in 
company  with  that  sinking  moon  of  the  old  dispensa- 
tion, that  bright  and  shining  light,  John  the  Baptist, 
are  not  so  needed,  now  that  the  darkness  is  past  and  the 
true  light  now  shineth.  Salvation  from  sin  in  this  life 
is  the  supreme  miracle.  The  son  of  man  is  the  great 
sign.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  "  light  which  lighteneth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  "In  the 
mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  every  word  shall  be 
established." 

We  can  not  conclude  these  reflections  without 
calling  special  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  desire  to 


VISITORS    AT    HEADQUARTERS  6 1 

evade  the  supernatural  is  born  of  the  secret  desire  to 
flee  from  a  personal  God.  No  other  God  than  a  per- 
sonal one  can  be  either  known  or  loved.  Such  only 
possesses  any  authority,  as  distinct  from  physical 
force.  Only  a  personal  God  can  reveal  himself  and, 
in  revealing  himself,  show  a  face  of  pity  to  the  sinner 
or  of  wrath  and  indignation  against  sin.  Hence  the 
universal  desire  of  the  unbelieving  world  of  thought  to 
decry  and  deride  the  supernatural. 


PREFIX  TO  CHAPTER  IV. 

*' And  while  Peter  thought  on  the  vision  the  spirit  said  unto 
him:  Behold,  three  tnen  seek  thee.  But  arise  and  get  thee  down 
and  go  with  them,  nothing  doubting,  for  I  have  sent  them."'— \cis 
x:  ig,  20. 

"Our  verse  shows  Peter  standing  between  the  vision  and  its 
application.  On  the  one  side  of  him  was  the  mysterious  sheet 
full  of  a  multitude  of  beasts,  on  the  other  side  were  three  men 
who  needed  just  the  principle  which  the  sheet  full  of  beasts 
involved.  It  was  a  critical  moment.  The  question  was  whether 
the  vision  could  pass  through  Peter  to  the  three  men  and  to  Cor- 
nelius. When  on  the  morrow  he  '  went  away  with  them '  the 
question  was  decided  and  the  idea  and  its  appropriate  duty 
joined  hands.  Man  standing  between  his  vision  and  his  tasks, 
that  is  the  subject  of  our  verse.  That  is  the  place  where  certain 
men  are  often  called  upon  peculiarly  to  stand,  and  in  some  de- 
gree it  is  the  place  where  all  men  are  standing  always.  For 
every  man  has  visions,  glimpses,  clearer  or  duller,  now  bright 
and  beautiful,  now  clouded  and  obscure,  of  what  is  absolutely 
and  abstractly  true;  and  every  man  has  also  pressing  on  him  the 
warm,  clear  lives  of  fellow  men.  There  is  the  world  of  truths 
on  one  side  and  there  is  the  world  of  man  upon  the  other.  Be- 
tween the  two  stands  man,  and  these  two  worlds  if  man  is  what 
he  ought  to  be  meet  through  his  nature." — Phillips  Brooks. 


The  Ascended  Christ. 


Frances  Ridley  Havickgal. 


;^* 


-?^ 


tsi^s. 


wm 


^m 


1.  Gold  -  en  harps  are  souuding,  An  -  gel  voic  -  es   rini:,  Pearl  -  y 

2.  He     who  came  to  save     us.  He  who  bled  and  died,  Now     is 

3.  Praj'-ing   for     Hischil-dren  In    that  bless-ed  place,  Call-ing 

-  ■   '  '-  ^  ^       If!:  •   /: 


-t-z=t: 


t—t-^^^-^- 


:t: 


-I — I h~-g 


^m 


SE^^m 


r IV 1 


•— ^ 


rr-i^ 


gates      are   o  -  pened,    0-pened  for   the   King,   Christ,  the  King    of 
crowned  with  glo  -  r}'       At     His  Father's  side;      Nev  -  er    more    to 
them       to     glo  -  ry,     Send-ing  them  His  grace;    His  bright  home  pre- 


=t==t;==t: 


=5=^ 


.-^-^ 


m 


glo  -  ry,  Je  -  sus,  King  of  love, 
suf  -  fer;  Nev  -  er  more  to  die; 
par  -  ing,  Lit  -  tie  ones,  for  you  ; 
— • • — r-^—^— • «-T— • — 


Is  gone  up  in  tri-umph, 
Je  -  sus,  King  of  glo  -  ry, 
Je  -  sus    ev  -  er     liv  -  eth, 


Chorus. 


-•-  •  ■'      -•-   -«&- 

To  His  home  a-bove. 
Is  gone  up  on  high. 
Ev  -  er    lov  -  eth  too. 


All     His  work  is  end 


Joy  -  ful- 


^^m^^: 


:^ 


m 


^-4- 


^^^itTZt 


±z^ 


-W—'ts. 


^i 


^m 


T^ 


wm^^^m 


ly   we  sing,     Je  -  sus  hath   as-cend  -  ed  !     Glo  -  ry  to   our  King. 


pi^=fc=:l=t: 


:^ 


f=f 


izzs: 


CHAPTER  IV. 


FOLDING  TENTS  ;  OR,  CREEDS  RECONSIDERED. 

On  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  Peter  proposed  to 
build  three  tabernacles  or  tents — one  for  Moses,  one 
for  Elijah  and  one  for  Christ.  Apparently  unselfish 
in  this  proposal — for  he  thought  not  of  building  for 
himself  or  his  fellow-disciples — he  was  really  quite 
selfish.  It  was  love  of  ease  and  religious  enjoyment 
which  prompted  him  to  make  his  thoughtless  speech. 
On  the  housetop  Peter  is  similarly  selfish,  only  it  is  the 
gratification  of  a  more  purely  intellectual  desire  which 
causes  him  to  delay  in  responding  to  the  calls  of  his 
visitors.  He  was  reluctant  to  admit  his  callers  partly 
because  he  did  not  enjoy  the  interruption.  It  broke 
his  train  of  thought.  It  compelled  him  to  leave  an 
unfinished  task,  viz.,  the  study  of  what  the  vision 
meant.  Add  to  these  his  mental  hunger  and  his 
finally  acquired  habit  of  thinking  twice  before  he  spoke 
or  acted,  and  we  see  reasons  enough,  apart  from  his 
Jewish  prejudices,  why  he  should  have  hesitated  to  go 
down  and  meet  the  men  at  the  door. 

It  seems  to  us  that  these  four  desires — the  love  of 
reflection,  the  passion  for  system  building,  added  to  a 
real  hunger  for  Divine  knowledge,  and  that  conserva- 
tive habit  of  thought  which  is  more  marked  in  re- 
65 


66  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

ligious  life  and  history  than  any  where  else — may  par- 
tially account  for  the  undue  attachment  manifested  by 
the  church  in  the  past  for  creeds  and  confessions  of 
faith — the  theological  element  of  Christianity. 

Yet  it  is  obvious  that  these  intellectual  desires,  even 
when  directed  toward  Divine  truth,  should  be  subor- 
dinated to  the  more  practical  impulses  which  point  to- 
ward duty  and  lead  the  way.  These  four  cords  that 
bind  human  thought  should  always  be  fastened  to  the 
stakes  of  practical  ends,  if  in  our  thinking  we  are  to 
touch  not  only  heaven  but  earth  and  human  life  at 
more  than  a  single  point.  The  speculative  impulse  is 
a  centrifugal  force;  it  tends  constantly  to  fly  off  at  a 
tangent  into  the  realm  of  abstract  theory  and  to  be- 
come unreal.  To  correct  this  tendency  there  is  needed 
the  centripetal  force  of  devotion  to  life's  practical 
tasks.  Hence  our  creeds,  if  ever  so  true,  need  at 
times,  like  army  tents,  to  be  taken  down,  temporarily 
at  least,  and  folded  up  and  stored  away  in  the  army 
wagon  preparatory  to  more  active  service  in  the  field. 

A  creed  is  simply  the  product  of  the  exercise  of 
human  thought  on  Divine  truth.  The  truth,  of  course, 
never  changes.  It  is  a  constant  factor.  But  man 
does  change  and  his  changes  are  subject  to  the  law  of 
mental  development  and  to  all  the  influences  that 
affect  human  thought  and  hfe.  And  for  this  reason  a 
creed  must  be  an  individual  as  well  as  a  voluntary 
affair.  It  can  neither  be  imposed  on  the  individual 
mind  or  be  composed  by  an  assembly  of  minds.  Nei- 
ther the  decrees  of  an  infallible  pope  nor  the  decisions 
of  any  church  council  can  make  a  living  creed.     Each 


FOLDING   TENTS  6/ 

man's  real  creed  must  necessarily  be  not  only  some- 
thing he  has  thought  out  for  himself,  but  also  by  him- 
self. As  his  creed  at  any  one  time  will  neither  repre- 
sent his  own  past  nor  future  thought — so  it  can  not  rep- 
resent his  brethren's  thought.  Time  and  personality 
are  factors  of  such  division  here  as  to  defy  all  the 
attempts  of  law  and  custom  to  bring  them  into  unity. 
It  must  be,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  that 
these  laws  of  development  and  individuality  apply  to 
the  formation  of  any  thing  worthy  of  the  name  of  a 
personal  creed. 

For  these  two  reasons  then,  because  the  creed  must, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  be  a  growth,  and  because  it  is 
subordinate  always  to  character  and  conduct,  we  plead 
for  such  a  reconsideration  of  creeds  as  shall  at  least 
consign  them  to  their  proper  place  in  a  truly  Christian 
scheme  of  life  and  morals,  if  it  do  not  essentially 
change  them.  It  seems  to  me  that  such  a  call  is  the 
voice  of  the  Spirit  to  the  church  to-day. 

I. — And  the  first  word  of  the  Spirit  to  the  church 
is  the  first  word  to  Peter  on  the  housetop.  "  Arise." 
Stand  upon  thy  feet.  Take  a  view  of  things  from  a 
higher  altitude.  This  will  not  only  extend  the  hori- 
zon of  your  vision,  but  at  the  same  time  simplify  it. 
This  is  the  advantage  of  the  bird's  eye  view.  It  gives 
us  a  representation  of  the  whole,  and  yet  in  miniature. 
It  is  both  brief  and  comprehensive.  It  seems  to  us 
that  this  word  should  be  spoken  to  the  creed  revisers 
of  today.  Let  them  survey  the  field  as  widely  as 
possible,  but  in  bringing  in  their  report,  let  them  be 
short.  Our  creeds  need  abridgement  as  well  as  re- 
vision. 


68  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

Peter  formulated  a  creed  when  he  took  the  words  of 
the  Spirit  and  the  wonder  of  the  vision,  recast  them 
both  in  the  mold  of  his  own  thought  and  then  said: 
"  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons."  That  was  his  whole  creed  summed  up. 
Amplified,  it  embraced  two  short  articles — first,  the 
fear  of  God;  and,  second,  the  work  of  righteousness. 
*'  In  every  nation  he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh 
righteousness  is  accepted  with  Him."  Peter's  creed 
included  only  what  was  essential.  And  this,  not  so 
much  in  the  way  of  belief  in  a  doctrine  as  of  practice 
in  a  life.  For,  added  to  this,  there  was  one  church 
rule  "  Ye  know,"  said  he,  "  that  it  is  unlawful  for  a 
man  that  is  a  Jew  to  keep  company  with  or  come  unto 
one  of  another  nation,  but  God  hath  taught  me  that 
I  should  call  no  man  common  or  unclean."  And  this 
is  all  the  rule  the  churches  would  need  to-day  to  gov- 
ern their  members  in  their  relation  to  the  world  if 
their  one  great  and  constantly  pursued  object  in 
"  keeping  company  with  or  coming  to "  those  who 
were  out  of  Christ  was  to  go  with  them,  as  Peter 
went  with  the  messengers  of  Cornelius,  to  save  them. 

It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  creed  of  Christ  was 
similarly  short  and  simple.  Think  of  a  church 
having  as  many  as  thirty-nine  "  Articles  of  Religion," 
or  even  as  many  as  twenty-five,  the  number  Mr.  Wes- 
ley retained  for  the  use  of  his  followers  from  the  Arti- 
cles of  the  Church  of  England.  Christ  imposed  only 
two.  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy 
strength."     This  is  the  first  and  great  article  of  faith. 


FOLDING    TENTS  69 

And  the  second  is  like  unto  it:  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself."  Both  are  comprehended  in  one 
saying,  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  Jesus  also 
gave  us  but  one  rule,  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  also  unto  them.  For 
this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets."  Two  articles  of 
faith  and  one  rule.  How  simple,  how  beautiful,  how 
Divine. 

Rev.  B.  Fay  Mills  is  authority  for  the  following: 
"  The  church  needs  the  establishment  of  ethical  and 
spiritual  rather  than  theological  standards.  We  have 
hedged  in  the  table  of  the  Lord.  It  is  not  our  table. 
It  belongs  to  the  Lord.  In  the  first  church  manual, 
accepted  as  authentic,  and  formulated  by  the  church 
of  the  second  century,  there  is  not  one  doctrinal  con- 
dition specified.  Not  one.  You  may  read  it  for  your- 
selves. There  were  moral  and  spiritual  conditions. 
There  was  to  be  love  to  God  and  willing  acceptance 
of  His  service.  There  was  to  be  love  to  one  another 
and  there  was  to  be  purity.  But  there  was  no  doc- 
trine.     It  is  not  so  much  doctrine  as  doing  His  will." 

II. — The  second  word  of  the  Spirit  to  Peter  which  is 
God's  word  to  the  creed-makers  of  all  generations  is — 
"  Get  thee  down  " — You  must  stoop,  Peter,  to  conquer. 
You  must  clothe  your  thoughts  in  such  speech  that 
every  man  may  not  only  hear  in  the  tongue  in  which 
he  is  born  but  in  that  part  of  his  native  tongue  that  he 
knows.  The  dialect  of  by-gone  centuries  is  no  better 
than  a  dead  language.  One  might  as  well  speak  m 
a  foreign  tongue  as  to  read  the  phraseology  of  many 
of  the  church  creeds  of  today  which  were  written  three 


70  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

or  four  centuries  ago.  Words  change  their  meaning 
in  the  lapse  of  ages.  "  The  words  of  the  Athanasian 
creed  "  says  an  eminent  writer,  "  were  hving  words  a 
few  centuries  ago.  They  have  changed  their  meaning 
since  then,  and  are,  to  ninety-nine  out  oi  every  one 
hundred,  only  dead  words.  Yet  men  tenaciously  hold 
to  the  expressions  of  which  they  do  not  understand 
the  meaning,  and  which  have  a  very  different  meaning 
no\^  from  what  they  once  had — person,  procession, 
substance — and  they  are  almost  worse  with  them  than 
without  them;  for  they  conceal  their  ignorance  and 
place  a  barrier  against  the  earnestness  of  inquiry.  We 
repeat  the  creed  by  rote  but  the  profound  truths  of 
being  which  the  creed  contains,  how  many  of  us  under- 
stand ? "  Dr.  Talmage  well  says,  "  In  order  to  reach 
the  multitudes  of  outsiders  we  must  drop  all  technical- 
ities out  of  our  religion.  When  we  talk  to  people 
about  the  hypostatic  union  and  French  encyclopedian- 
ism,  we  are  as  impolitic  and  as  little  understood  as  if 
a  physician  should  talk  to  an  ordinary  person  about 
the  pericardium  and  intercostal  muscle  and  scorbutic 
symptoms.  Here  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  sinning, 
struggling  and  dying  people  who  need  to  realize  just  one 
thing — that  Jesus  Christ  came  to  save  them  and  will  save 
them  now.  But  we  go  into  a  profound  and  elaborate  defi- 
nition of  what  justification  is,  and  after  all  the  work 
there  are  not,  outside  of  the  learned  professions,  5,000 
people  in  the  United  States  who  can  tell  what  justifica- 
tion is.  I  will  read  you  the  definition:  '  Justification  is 
purely  a  forensic  act,  the  act  of  a  judge  sitting  in  a 
forum,  in  which  the  supreme  ruler  and  judge,  who  is 


FOLDING   TENTS  7 1 

accountable  to  none,  and  who  alone  knows  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  ends  of  his  universal  government  can 
best  be  attained,  reckons  that  which  was  done  by  the 
substitute,  and  not  on  account  of  anything  done  by 
them,  but  purely  upon  account  of  this  gracious  method 
of  reckoning,  grants  them  the  full  remission  of  their 
sins.'  Now  what  is  justification  ?  I  will  tell  you  what 
justification  is.  When  a  sinner  believes,  God  lets 
him  off." 

The  truths  of  the  Bible  v/ere  doubtless  intended  to 
be  born  again  in  human  thought,  but  the  creeds  of  the 
reformation  era,  which  we  have  inherited,  bear  the 
marks  of  the  unnatural  labor  that  produced  them. 
Their  authors  had  been  intellectual  slaves.  Accus- 
tomed, as  the  reformers  had  been,  to  the  chains  of 
scholastic  formulas  and  the  rigid  dialectics  of  the  time, 
they  could  not  altogether  cast  off  the  shackles  of  false 
habits  of  thought;  and,  as  they  had  in  part  received 
the  truth  in  its  scholastic  setting  they  must  needs  forge 
similar  chains  for  their  pupils.  They  were  addicted  to 
the  vicious  philosophical  and  theological  practices  of 
their  time.     They  were  not  set  free  in  a  day. 

III. — The  third  word  of  the  Spirit  to  Peter  was, 
"  Go  with  them."  And  this  word  also  is  for  us.  Our 
creeds  must  be  more  practical.  Around  the  Divine 
doctrines  of  the  Bible  there  have  grown  up  in  the 
course  of  ages  a  body  of  human  dogma.  This  is  the- 
ology. In  so  far  as  it  is  true  it  is  an  outgrowth  and 
not  an  overgrowth  of  Scripture.  Its  necessity  arises 
from  the  unsystematic  way  in  which  the  teachings  of 
Scripture  are  presented,    thrown  out,  as  the  various 


^2  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

species  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  are  distributed 
over  the  earth,  without  much  regard  to  order  or  system. 
Theology  classifies  these  teachings  as  the  naturalist 
arranges  specimens  in  the  cabinet  or  museum.  But 
there  is  something  more  important  in  our  religious  life 
and  thought  than  classification.  I  may  not  be  a  bot- 
anist, yet  I  may  love  flowers.  I  may  classify  a  mush- 
room with  a  may-apple  because  both  are  umbrella- 
shaped,  yet  this  error  is  not  so  perilous  as  ignorance 
of  the  difference  between  a  mushroom  and  a  toad- 
stool. I  may  not  be  a  zoologist  and  yet  love  animals. 
I  may  classify  the  whale  with  a  porpoise.  But  this 
error  is  trivial  compared  with  ignorance  of  the  dif- 
ference between  the  porpoise  and  the  shark.  How 
not  to  eat  poisonous  food,  how  not  to  fall  into  the 
jaws  of  Satan,  this  is  practical  theology  and  the  creeds 
should  teach  us  more  of  this. 

Dr.  Josiah  Strong  says  in  The  Neiv  Era:  "Doc- 
trine is  immensely  important,  but  not  all  important. 
The  root  does  not  exist  for  itself;  it  is  a  means  to  the 
tree  and  the  fruit  as  an  end.  A  Christian  truth  in  the 
heart  brings  forth  Christian  acts  in  the  life  as  natur- 
ally as  the  root  pushes  itself  up  into  the  air  and 
sun.  Cut  the  stock,  fell  the  tree,  and  the  root  dies  at 
length.  A  faith  without  works  is  soon  dead.  If  our 
doctrines  do  not  flower  and  fruit  in  Christian  living, 
they  die.  Many  a  man's  creed  is  a  field  full  of 
stumps.  There  was  life  there  once,  but  because  the 
natural  expression  of  that  life  was  prevented,  it  per- 
ished. We  have  not  over-estimated  the  importance 
of  believing  the  truth,   but  we  have  under-estimated 


FOLDING   TENTS  73 

the  importance  of  living  the  truth."  Our  creeds  must 
take  in  the  second  great  commandment  of  the  law. 
We  must  learn  to  regard  man  as  well  as  to  fear  God, 

Abou  Ben  Adhem  (may  his  tribe  increase) 

Awoke  one  night  from  a  deep  dream  of  peace 

And  saw  within  the  moonhght  in  his  room, 

Making  it  rich  and  hke  a  hly  in  bloom, 

An  angel  writing  in  a  book  of  gold; 

Exceeding  peace  had  made  Ben  Adhem  bold, 

And  to  the  presence  in  the  room  he  said, 
"What  writest  thou  ?" — The  vision  raised  its  head. 

And,  with  a  look  made  of  all  sweet  accord, 

Answered,  "  The  names  of  those  who  love  the  Lord." 
"And  is  mine  one?"  said  Abou,      "Nay,  not  so," 

Replied  the  angel — Abou  spoke  more  low. 

But  cheerly  still  and  said,  "  I  pray  thee,  then. 

Write  me  as  one  that  loves  his  fellowmen," 

The  angel  wrote  and  vanished.     The  next  night 

It  came  again  with  a  great  wakening  light, 

And  showed  the  names  whom  love  of  God  had  blessed — 

And  lo,  Ben  Adhem's  name  led  all  the  rest. 

We  have  always  admired  this  poem,  yet,  lest  it  give 
occasion  to  those  who  think  they  love  their  fellow-men 
to  divorce  what  God  has  joined  together  and  forget 
Him — we  use  poetic  license  to  amend  as  follows: 

"And  is  mine  one?"  said  Abou.  "Nay,  not  yet," 
Replied  the  angel — "Though  mourn  not  nor  fi'et, 
Be  cheerly  still;  for  God  hath  heard  thee,  when. 
To  His  love's  joined  the  love  of  fellowmen." 

This  spoils  the  story  and  the  poetry,  doubtless,  but 
it  brings  it  more  into  harmony  with  the  scriptural  story 
of  Cornelius'  vision  and  the  truth  which  God  would 
teach  by  that  story.  . 


74  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE    VISION 

IV. — The  fourth  word  of  the  Spirit  to  the  creed- 
maker  is,  "  Doubting  nothing."  One  reason  that 
doubts  arose  in  Peter's  mind  was  that  his  mind  alone 
was  occupied.  His  heart  was  not  engaged.  Yet  he 
could  have  better  trusted  the  untutored  instinct  of  his 
heart  than  what  Nebuchadnezzar  called  "  the  thoughts 
upon  his  bed  and  the  visions  of  his  head."  The  vision 
God  gave  him  was  a  blessed  one,  but  had  he  continued 
to  think  upon  it  without  feeling,  the  truth  itself  would 
have  lost  its  hold  upon  him,  and  his  creed  would  have 
become  narrow  and  hard.  This  has  been  another 
trouble  with  the  creeds  of  Christendom.  The  heart 
has  usually  been  left  out  in  their  making.  The  heart 
is  like  the  soldier's  bride,  usually  left  at  home  when 
theological  discussion  or  creed  revision  has  been  the 
order  of  the  day.  The  intellect  alone  is  an  unsafe 
leader.  It  pursues  its  train  of  thought  without  regard 
to  the  welfare  of  the  human  freight  it  is  carrying.  It 
is  a  cavalryman  dashing  along,  regardless  of  the  souls 
it  slaughters  in  its  ride.  It  forges  the  links  of  its  logi- 
cal chain,  careless  as  to  whether  that  chain  binds  the 
martyr  or  the  murderer.  If  salvation  be  by  creed 
rather  than  by  Christ,  then  the  martyr  to  another 
creed,  however  pure  his  life,  is  as  much  under  Divine 
condemnation  as  the  murderer.  Men  become  hard- 
ened in  heart  by  the  exercise  of  reason  alone,  but 
they  are  not  changed  from  fishermen  or  soldiers  into 
butchers,  by  true  Christianity.  Surely  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  does  not  thus  change  the  human  spirit.  No; 
the  change  is  due  solely  to  the  dropping  down  out  of 
sight  of  this  damper,  the  heart;  no  wonder  the  manna 


FOLDING    TENTS  75 

of  God's  Word  has  then  become  baked  in  the  oven  of 
thought  until  it  has  become  as  hard  as  a  stone.  Yet 
people's  hearts  are  often  better  than  their  creeds. 
Many  a  man  has  been  like  the  tribe  of  Asher,  of  whom 
it  was  said,  "  He  shall  dip  his  foot  in  oil,"  though 
"  his  shoes  shall  be  iron  and  brass."  A  tender  heart 
encased  in  an  iron  creed,  this  is  no  uncommon  phe- 
nomenon. 

Intellectual  belief,  is  but  one  element  of  faith. 
There  are  two  others.  The  three  elements  are,  the 
rt:.fsent  of  the  mind  to  the  truth,  the  cojtsent  of  the 
heart  to  the  Divine  overtures  of  love,  the  presen- 
tation  of  all  the  active  powers  of  soul  and  body 
to  the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  To  <3:^mit  the 
truth  is  but  to  take  one  step  toward  the  cross.  It 
must  be  followed  by  others  more  important,  viz. : 
We  must  commit  the  salvation  of  our  souls  to  Him 
whose  rightful  charge  it  is,  while  we  j-^^^mit  our- 
selves under  the  mighty  hand  of  God.  It  was  thus 
Cornelius  was  saved.  His  head  was  washed  with  the 
water  of  the  Divine  Word,  of  which  he  already  knew 
something,  before  Peter  came.  His  heart  was  enlisted 
or  he  never  would  have  fallen  at  the  latter's  feet  in 
worship.  His  hands  and  feet  were  ready  to  follow  at 
the  Lord's  command.  "  Now  are  we  all  here  present 
before  God  to  hear,"  and,  for  a  soldier  like  Cornelius 
to  hear  was  to  obey.  So  the  Phillipian  jailor  was 
saved.  He  "called  for  a  light,"  and  obtained  one. 
Paul  "  preached  the  Word  unto  him,"  before  it  was 
said,  "  he  believed,  rejoicing  with  all  his  house,"  "  He 
came  and  sprang  in,   trembling.'"     He  was  alarmed, 


76  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE   VISION 

not  because  the  prisoners  were  escaped — he  had  been 
assured  that  they  were  all  safe;  not  on  account  of 
the  earthquake  now  past,  but  in  view  of  the  judgments 
of  God.  "  And  he  fell  down  before  Paul  and  Silas, 
and  said,  '  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? '  "  He 
would  be  a  most  obedient  servant  to  these  "  servants 
of  the  Most  High  God,"  if  only  he  could  be  saved. 
Thus  also  was  Lydia,  in  many  respects  a  contrast  to 
the  jailor,  saved.  *'  Whose  heart  the  Lord  opened — 
that  she  attended  unto  the  things  which  were  spoken 
by  Paul.  And  she  besought  us,  saying,  "  If  ye  have 
judged  me  to  be  faithfid  to  the  Lord,  come  into  my 
house."  Faith  to  Lydia  meant  three  things — trust, 
belief  and  fidelity. 

V. — The  last  word  of  the  Spirit  to  Peter  was — "  For 
I  have  sent  them. "  The  Spirit  speaking  was  the  Spirit 
of  Christ. 

A  final  argument  in  behalf  of  the  folding  up  of  our 
creeds  is  that  salvation  is  not  by  belief  in  a  creed  but 
by  faith  in  Christ.  Peter  preached  Christ,  not  creed, 
in  the  house  of  Cornelius.  The  word  "  God  "  appears 
six  times  in  the  brief  synopsis  we  have  of  his  sermon. 
Each  time  it  is  God  connected  with  Christ  whom 
Peter  says  is  "  Lord  of  all."  God,  he  tells  CorneHus, 
"  sent  "  Christ  to  preach,  "  anointed  "  Him  for  this 
service,  was  "  with  Him  "  as  a  witness  to  his  author- 
ity and  power,  "  raised  Him  up  "  from  the  dead, 
"  chose  "  His  apostles  as  witnesses  and  finally  "  or- 
dained "  Him  to  be  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead.  It 
is  Christ  as  a  preacher  "  who  came  not  to  destroy  the 
law  and  the  prophets  but  to  fulfill, "  Christ  as  a  worker, 


FOLDING    TENTS  TJ 

a  servant  who  came  "  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but 
to  minister,"  Christ  as  a  physician  who  came  "  not  to 
call  the  righteous  but  sinners  to  repentance. "  It  is 
the  Christ  of  the  first  three  gospels,  and  not  of  the 
fourth,  and  yet  this  Christ  is  sufficient  to  save.  If 
Peter  had  been  suffered  by  the  Spirit  to  proceed 
further  with  his  discourse  he  might  have  added  more, 
as  he  does  in  his  epistles,  on  the  Divinity  of  Christ 
and  on  all  that  His  salvation  means,  but  the  Spirit 
restrained  him  from  preaching  more  about  Christ  than 
was  barely  essential  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Him. 
He  barely  alludes  to  His  future  judgeship.  He  dwells 
particularly  upon  Him  as  a  present  Saviour. 

And  after  all,  this  is  what  men  need  to  hear  today. 
Not  so  much  more  about  Christ  than  they  are  ready 
to  receive  but  as  much  as  they  "  are  able  to  bear," 
But  the  principal  thing  is  "  to  sanctify  in  your  hearts 
Christ  as  Lord."  (See  Peter  iii:  15,  Rev.  Vers.) 
Some  one  has  said  "  Peter  didn't  preach  round  and 
about  Christ,  he  preached  Christ."  Now,  if  men 
are  saved  by  faith  in  Christ  and  not  by  belief  in  a 
creed  then  why  not  make  the  conditions  of  admission 
to  church  membership  as  simple  as  Christ  did  and 
Peter  and  all  the  Apostles  did  }  For  in  the  council  at 
Jerusalem,  held  some  years  after  this  event,  to  settle 
the  question  of  the  Gentiles'  relation  to  the  church, 
there  was  but  one  doctrinal  condition  specified.  "  We 
believe,"  says  Peter,  "  that  we  shall  be  saved  through 
the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  even  as  they."  And 
there  was  no  dissenting  voice.  "  All  the  multitude 
kept  silence. " 


78  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

And  as  Peter  does  not  tell  all  he  knows  about  the 
Divinity  of  Christ,  neither  does  he  say  much  of  the 
Atonement  save  that  "  through  his  name  every  one 
that  belie veth  on  Him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins." 
There  is  here  no  philosophy  of  the  person  of  Christ, 
no  theology  of  the  atonement,  and  yet  here  was  truth 
enough  to  save  a  whole  household  and  all  its  con- 
nections. 

And  "the  doctrines  of  grace,"  as  they  are  called, 
preached  by  Peter  are  also  few  and  simple.  As  the 
objective,  or  Divine  side  of  Christianity  presented  was 
simple — so  was  the  subjective  or  human.  Cornelius 
had  no  need  of  repentance,  else  repentance  would  have 
been  preached.  Peter  simply  added  these  two — faith, 
issuing  in  forgiveness.  Repentance,  faith,  forgive- 
ness, these  three.  It  is  true  that  in  answer  to  the 
prayer  of  Cornelius  God  gave  him  three  other  great 
blessings — the  new  birth,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit, 
and  a  pure  heart.  "  And  when  they  of  the  circum- 
cision heard  these  things,  they  held  their  peace  and 
glorified  God,  saying,  then  to  the  Gentiles  also  hath 
God  granted  repentance  unto  life."  "  And  God  which 
knoweth  the  heart,"  said  Peter,  "  bear  them  witness, 
giving  them  the  Holy  Ghost,  purifying  their  hearts  by 
faith."  There  were  further  instructions  in  experimen- 
tal religion — given  by  the  Holy  Spirit  himself — things 
that  cannot  be  taught  in  any  sermon  so  as  to  be  under- 
stood by  the  unsaved  hearer.  It  may  be  well  to  re- 
quire them  as  conditions  of  church  membership,  but 
they  can  not  be  taught  through  any  creed  save  as  that 
creed  is  taught  by  Christ  Himself  received  into  the 
heart  by  faith. 


FOLDING   TENTS  79 

For  these  reasons  we  think  the  creeds  of  the  churches 
should  be  simphfied,  and  made  more  intelligible  and 
practical.  Yet  let  us  not  be  understood  as  a  thought- 
less despiser  of  these  creeds. 

If  creed-making,  liable  as  it  is  to  great  abuse,  were 
yet  not  a  legitimate  function  of  the  church  it  would  not 
have  followed  such  a  natural  order  of  development  in 
history.  "  This,  then,"  says  Dr.  Strong,  "  is  the  nat- 
ural order  in  the  development  of  human  thought  and 
progress  to  have  been  expected  in  the  Christian  Era; 
and  history  shows  this  to  have  been  the  actual  order. 
First,  theology  proper,  or  the  doctrine  of  God,  then, 
anthropology,  or  the  doctrine  of  man,  then  soteriology 
or  the  doctrine  of  salvation,  which  treats  of  the  rela- 
tions of  God  and  man;  and  lastly,  sociology  or  the 
doctrine  of  society,  the  relation  of  man  to  his  fellows. 

"  The  discussion  of  each  of  these  doctrines  or  each 
cluster  of  doctrines  occupied  several  generations,  and 
some  continued  through  several  centuries  before  they 
were  authoritatively  formulated  by  the  church.  Be- 
cause these  doctrines  are  logically  connected,  their  dis- 
cussions naturally  overlapped,  but  they  were  each  of 
supreme  interest  in  their  respective  periods. 

"  The  third  period  closed  during  the  great  reforma- 
tion of  the  sixteenth  century  with  the  formulation,  in 
the  Protestant  symbols,  of  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
faith,  and  then  began  the  sociological  age,  which  will 
continue  until  its  problems  are  solved  by  bringing  men 
into  right  relations  with  each  other." 

Now,  this  precise  order  of  development  was  antici- 
pated and  symbolized  in. the  order  of  the  truth  as  it  is 


80  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

brought  to  the  mind  of  Peter  and  Cornelius  and  their 
associates.  First,  there  is  the  lesson  taught  to  Cor- 
nelius that  Peter,  God's  messenger,  was  also  a  man 
and  not  a  God  come  down  in  the  form  of  man;  sec- 
ond, the  lesson  Peter  says  God  has  taught  him,  viz., 
not  to  "  call  any  man  common  or  unclean;"  third,  that 
other  truth  Peter  perceived  that  *'  in  every  nation  he 
that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted 
with  Him,"  and  fourth,  the  lesson  taught  the  aston- 
ished Jewish  brethren,  that  they  must  take  these  Gen- 
tiles into  their  fellowship. 

All  this  is  church  history,  or  rather  the  history  of 
church  doctrine.  It  was  natural  that  in  the  first  three 
centuries  the  subjects  of  the  person  of  Christ  and  the 
Trinity  should  be  the  great  themes  of  theological  dis- 
cussion, that  in  a  later  age,  the  Augustinian,  the  sub- 
jects of  depravity  and  natural  ability  should  occupy 
the  minds  of  Christian  thinkers,  and  that  in  the  Ref- 
ormation era  we  should  have  the  atonement  and  jus- 
tification by  faith  and  that  to-day  we  should  have  these 
practical  questions,  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law 
for  consideration,  viz:  justice,  mercy  and  the  love  of 
man. 

Again,  we  repeat,  let  no  one  account  of  us  as  pos- 
sessed of  any  prejudice  against  the  creed  of  any  church. 
It  is  the  misunderstanding  of  the  nature  and  function 
of  a  creed  that  calls  forth  these  expressions.  Creeds 
are  not  doors  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  only  door- 
knobs. The  door  itself  may  be  forced  by  the  violence 
of  persistent,  earnest  prayer,  even  when  the  key  of 
knowledge  has  been  taken   away.      It  is  the  abuse 


FOLDING   TENTS  8 1 

rather  than  the  proper  use  of  creeds  that  we  deplore. 
And  our  last  word  is  against  the  self-deception  of 
those  who  fancy  that  they  have  no  creed.  It  is  pos- 
sible to  be  dogmatic  in  our  assertions  about  dogmas. 
Heterodoxy  as  well  as  orthodoxy  often  means  my 
doxy.  A  creed  that  declares  against  all  creeds  is  itself 
a  creed.  As  every  man  is  either  a  practical  idolater 
or  a  worshiper  of  the  true  God,  so  every  man  has  a 
measurably  true  or  false  creed.  There  are  no  atheists 
in  the  world,  neither  are  there  any  absolute  infidels. 
There  is  no  man  without  his  God.  There  is  no  man 
without  his  creed. 


PREFIX  TO  CHAPTER  V. 

^^  And  when  it  came  to  pass  that  Peter  entered,  Cornelius  met 
him,  and  fell  down  at  his  feet,  and  worshipped  him.  But  Peter 
raised  him  up  saying:  Stand  up;  I  myself  also  am  a  man. — Acts  x: 
25,  26. 

"  Some  trace  of  his  pagan, education  Luke  notes  here.  Yet  it 
is  not  clear  nor  probable  that  the  centurion  held  Peter  for  a  god 
or  a  demigod,  nor  even  an  angel,  as  Grotius  conceives.  Lim- 
borch  well  replied  that  it  is  not  likely  that  Cornelius  believed 
that  an  angel  told  him  to  send  for  another  angel,  or  that  an 
angel  by  the  name  of  Simon  Peter  was  lodging  with  a  tanner. 
Limborch  rightly  explains  it  that  Cornelius  paid  a  more  pros- 
trate reverence  to  Peter  as  an  ambassador  of  God  or  a  saint  or 
sacred  personage  than  true  Christianity  allows  to  be  paid  to  any 
mere  man.  Hence  Peter's  words.  It  is  remarkably  significant 
that  Peter,  the  supposed  first  so-called  pope,  should  be  the  man 
to  utter  this  marked  caution  against  over-reverence  of  saints." — 
Whedon. 


Come  Unto  Me, 


1'-^^=^- 


gS=-B=iEs=fzz=g^EiE:-=M=pJ- 


-p 1? — t? — t — (— 

1.  Come     un  -  to    me      when    shad-ows  dark-  ly     gath  -    er, 

2.  Large    are    the  man  -  sions      in     thy      Father's    dwell  -  ing, 

3.  There,  like    an     B    -    den,      bios-  som  -  ing     in      glad  -  ness, 


^^ 


n 


^  ^  f  f 


^-- 


:rt 


t 


^^l 


-^^H- 


When    the      sad    heart      is 
Glad     are     the  homes  that 
Bloom   the     fair  flow'rs  that 


wea  -  ry    and    dis  -  tressed, 
sor-rows   nev  -  er        dim ; 
earth  too  rude  -  ly       pressed ; 


f^=f^ 


*: 


P 


see: 


Seek  -  ing   for       com 
Sweet    are  the      harps 
Come    un  -  to        me, 


5^^^ 
3=^- 


i 


fort 


from  your  heav'nly  Fa  -  ther, 
ho  -  ly  mu  -  sic  swell  -  ing, 
ye    who  droop  in      sad  -  ness. 


Come     un  -  to      me  and         I      will  give    you     rest 

Soft       are  the    tones      which     raise  the  heavenly        hymn... 
Come     un  -  to      me  and         I      will  give    you     rest 


:=k!: 


===f-uh-I     I     r — y=F 


m 


CHAPTER  V. 

IDOLS   IN    THE   CAMP;    OR,    CHURCHIANITY   VERSUS 
CHRISTIANITY. 

The  impulse  of  Cornelius  to  render  an  homage  more 
than  was  meet  to  the  Divine  messenger  has  always 
been  the  untutored  instinct  of  Paganism  and  of  a  semi- 
Pagan  form  of  Christianity.  The  heathen  Lystrans 
but  obeyed  a  similar  natural  and  not  altogether  un- 
worthy impulse,  when  they  brought  oxen  and  garlands 
to  the  gates  of  the  city  and  would  have  done  sacrifice 
unto  Paul  and  Barnabas.  And  St.  Paul  declares  that 
the  minister-worship  which  prevailed  in  the  church 
of  Corinth  was  paramount  proof  of  carnality  and  a 
pagan  spirit.  "  For  while  one  saith,  I  am  of  Paul; 
and  another,  I  am  of  Apollos;  are  ye  not  carnal.-' 
Who,  then,  is  Paul  and  who  is  Appollos  but  servants 
by  whom  ye  believed,  even  as  the  Lord  gave  to  every 
man." 

In  the  case  of  Cornelius,  however,  there  were  addi- 
tional reasons  why  his  reverence  for  the  apostle 
should  have  assumed  so  extreme  a  form.  He  is  sup- 
posed by  most  commentators  and  Bible  historians  to 
have  been  a  Jewish  proselyte,  one  who  had  found  in 
the  ethical  teachings  of  Judaism  that  satisfaction  for 
his  soul's  longings  that  he  could  find  nowhere  else  in 
the  wide  world  over  w^hich  he  traveled  as  a  Roman 
85 


86  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

soldier.  As  such  he  was  a  sincere  seeker  after  God, 
with  that  profound  reverence  for  the  truth  which  every 
noble  soul  feels.  He  was  also  a  Roman,  living  in  the 
time  of  the  emperors,  when  the  Caesars  on  the  throne 
and  even  the  Herods,  the  provincial  governors,  ex- 
acted an  homage  little  short  of  worship. 

Besides,  Cornelius  was  living  in  an  oriental  country 
and  city.  When  in  Rome,  he  did  as  the  Romans. 
When  m  Judea  why  should  he  not  do  as  the  Jews  .'' 
Thus  his  military  life  and  experience  as  a  traveler  in 
search  of  rest  for  his  soul  and  his  residence  in  the 
Orient  under  the  shadow  of  a  sacerdotalism  as  ex- 
treme as  any  that  ever  prevailed  anywhere — all 
conspired  to  render  him  unusually  obeisant  to  one 
whom  the  angel  of  God  had  designated  as  the  min- 
ister-plenipotentiary and  delegate  apostolic  of  the 
great  King  of  heaven  and  earth.  In  his  respect  for 
rank  and  admiration  for  the  persons  of  men  he  was  a 
true  Roman.  His  idolatry  has  its  parallel  today. 
But  this  leads  us  to  our  theme. 

To  our  thought  the  semi-pagan  elements  in  that 
which  passes  for  Christian  worship  today  group  them- 
selves about  two  leading  forms. 

1.  That  which  sacrifices  devotion  to  instruction. 

2.  That  which  substitutes  the  human  personality 
for  the  Divine. 

I. — Catholicism  has  always  sacrificed  instruction  to 
what  it  calls  devotion.  It  lifts  up  the  altar  and  lets 
down  the  pulpit.  It  magnifies  the  "  mass  "  and  not 
the  masses,  although  it  professes  to  be  their  truest 
friend.      But  it  is  no  true  friendship  for  the  people 


IDOLS    IN    THE    CAMP  8/ 

that  sacrifices  popular  education  on  the  altar  of  reli- 
gion. And  yet,  as  far  as  the  public  worship  of  God  is 
concerned,  have  not  all  Protestant  denominations, 
possibly  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church,  sacrificed  the  service  on  the  altar 
of  what  it  calls  the  sermon  ?  Have  we  not  salted  our 
sacrifice  with  the  purely  intellectual  element  until  it  is 
sometimes  more  salt  than  sacrifice,  and  even  then 
with  salt  that  has  lost  the  savor  of  true  sanctity  ?  We 
are  not  in  bondage  to  the  "  beggarly  elements  "  of  the 
Jewish  world — nor  yet  to  the  Greek  world  as  far  as  the 
introduction  of  art  into  our  temples  is  concerned,  but 
are  we  not  in  partial  bondage  to  the  Greek  elements 
of  "  wisdom"  and  "  words,"  the  hunger  and  thirst  for 
learning,  talent  and  eloquence,  in  what  we  call  the 
"sacred  desk?"  It  is  a  simple  fact,  easily  verified, 
that  the  generality  of  non-church  goers  and  indeed  a 
large  proportion  of  regular  church  attendants  regard 
an  invitation  to  church  as  a  request  to  "  hear  our 
preacher"  or  hear  my  sermon.  So  much  so,  in  fact, 
that  it  is  often  embarrassing  for  the  minister  himself 
to  invite  people  to  his  church.  The  thought  of  public 
worship  as  both  an  individual  and  social  duty  and  as 
implied  in  the  call  to  the  house  of  God  does  not  seem 
to  be  present  to  the  average  mind  and  conscience  of 
today.  This  is  because  the  Sabbath  meeting  has 
come  to  mean  with  Protestants  the  Sunday  preach- 
ing— chiefly  this  and  nothing  more.  Hence  the  work- 
ingman  naturally  looks  upon  the  church  as  a  Sunday 
club  and  the  pulpit  as  an  ecclesiastical  lecture  platform 
and  as  naturally  reasons  that  he  has  an  equal  right  to 


88  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

his  Sunday  Labor  Union  meetings  and  his  sermons  on 
"  the  hfe  that  now  is,"  his  preaching  in  the  form  of 
labor  discussions  and  debates.  Indeed  so  prevalent 
is  this  popular  conception  of  the  character  of  the  aver- 
age Protestant  religious  service  that  Mr.  Bellamy  in 
his  *'  Looking  Backward"  pictures  the  great  majority 
of  churchmen  of  the  year  2000  as  attending  church 
at  home,  where  they  have  private  telephone  connection 
with  the  auditoriums  of  the  celebrated  divines.  In 
the  20th  century  the  occupation  of  the  lesser  pulpit 
"  stars"  will  be  gone.  Is  not  this  a  great  gain  on  the 
score  of  economy  of  men,  of  labor,  of  strength 
and  time  over  the  old  conventicle  method  of 
meeting  together  in  a  thousand  different  rooms  called 
churches  to  hear  preachers  preach  and  soloists 
sing !  And  from  his  standpoint  Mr.  Bellamy  is 
right.  We  fear  that  Dr.  Talmage,  with  all  his  good 
intentions,  has,  by  the  wholesale  and  retail  distri- 
bution of  his  sermons,  fostered  the  same  idea.  "  May 
I  not  stay  at  home  and  read  Talmage  .? "  Cer- 
tainly, with  profit,  if  this  matter  of  sermon-hearing  is 
all  there  is  of  your  Sunday-go-to-meeting  religion. 
And  certainly  also  the  modern  church  member,  official 
or  otherwise,  who  looks  upon  his  church  as  an  eccle- 
siastical hotel  where  he  takes  his  Sunday  meals  or 
meal  rather — for  one  is  usually  sufficient  for  him — 
and  pays  his  bill  to  the  preacher,  has  the  true  concep- 
tion of  the  proper  function  of  the  organization  to 
which  he  belongs,  if  "  sermon-making"  as  it  is  called 
and  "  pulpit  efforts  "  are  the  chief  if  not  only  uses  for 
which     the    church     exists.        But     Cornelius,      the 


IDOLS    IN    THE    CAMP  89 

heathen,  had  the  proper  notion  of  the  double  function 
of  a  rehgious  assembly  when  he  said  to  Peter,  "  We 
are  all  here  present  before  God"  in  the  attitude  first 
of  humble  worshipers  and  secondly,  to  *'  hear  all 
things  that  are  commanded  thee  of  God  to  speak." 
The  boarding-house  idea  of  the  "  solemn  assembly  " 
of  the  saints  is  a  degradation  consequent  upon  bring- 
ing "  Greeks  into  the  temple."  The  p&rch  of  God's 
temple  is  not  a  Greek  portico  nor  is  the  Christian  as- 
sembly an  academy.  The  New  Testament  idea  of 
the  function  of  the  church  is  fourfold.  It  is  a  school 
or  place  of  instruction.  It  is  a  home  or  place  for  rest 
and  Christian  fellowship.  It  is  a  temple  or  place  of 
worship.  It  is  a  work-shop  or  place  of  labor  for  God 
and  souls.  "  And  they  continued  steadfastly  in  the 
apostle  s  doctrine  and  fellotvship  and  in  breaking  of 
bread  and  in  prayers.  And  fear  came  upon  every 
soul,  and  many  zvonders  and  signs  were  done  by  the 
apostles.''  That  the  meeting  for  instruction  was  not 
considered  the  most  important  gathering  of  the 
disciples  is  manifest  from  the  subsequent  mention  of 
the  various  lines  of  activity  upon  which  the  apostolic 
church  was  run.  "  And  they,  continuing  daily  with 
one  accord  in  the  temple  and  breaking  bread  at  home, 
did  eat  their  meat  with  gladness  and  singleness  of 
heart,  praising  God  and  having  favor  with  all  the  peo- 
ple. And  the  Lord  added  to  the  church  daily  those 
who  were  being  saved."  Gladness  and  singleness  of 
heart  at  home;  praise  and  blessing  to  God  continually 
in  the  temple;  favor  with  all  the  people  on  the  streets 
— these  were  the  marks  of  the  prosperity  of  the  early 


90  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

church.  But  in  this  connection  the  synagogue  or 
place  of  exposition  and  disputation  is  not  mentioned. 
They  had  abandoned  the  upper  room  for  the  temple 
as  a  place  of  prayer  and  praise,  and  for  the  porch  of 
that  temple  as  a  place  of  testimony  and  exhortation 
and  for  the  homes  of  the  people  as  a  place  of  joy  and 
fellowship.  And  all  these  tracks  were  used  daily. 
The  fourth  line  of  instruction  which  we  consider  today 
the  main  track,  was  used,  but  possibly  not  oftener 
than  once  in  seven  days. 

The  modern  "  institutional  church,"  with  its  prac- 
tical lines  of  work,  its  kindergarten  and  night-schools 
for  instruction,  its  gymnasium  and  manual-training 
department,  its  home  and  hospital  services  and  its  free 
and  easy  gospel  meetings  and  sacred  concerts,  and 
these  continued  daily,  seems  to  me  to  need  only  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be  a  revival  in  modern 
form  of  that  Jerusalem  Christianity.  The  "  institu- 
tional church "  is  our  modern  protest  against  the 
Protestant  idea  of  the  church  as  an  institution  whose 
sole  object  is  to  give  Sunday  lectures  or  entertain- 
ments to  the  properly  dressed,  if  not  ticketed,  pew- 
,  holders.  The  true  Church  of  Christ  is  like  the  sheet 
which  was  "  knit  at  the  four  corners."  It  was  meant 
to  rest  squarely  on  the  four  corner  stones  we  have 
mentioned.  A  church  that  is  purely  devotional,  with- 
out intelligence,  is  a  "  creeping  thing;"  one  that  adds 
intelligence  to  piety  can  fly  but  can  not  carry  the 
heavy  burdens  of  humanity;  only  the  church  that  is 
four-cornered,  that  is  a  combined  school,  home,  tem- 
ple and  workshop,  is  "  a  four-footed  beast  of  the  earth," 
able  to  do  God's  work  in  the  world. 


IDOLS    IN    THE    CAMP  9 1 

II. — Again,  as  man  is  a  worshiping  animal  and  he 
can  not  worship  abstract  principles  or  adore  moral 
theories,  the  second  form  which  his  idolatry  takes  is 
the  worship  of  some  personal,  human  embodiment  of 
truth  and  virtue.  This  the  churchianity  of  today 
finds,  or  thinks  it  finds,  in  the  so-called  "  popular  pas- 
tor."  Such  a  church  is  usually  so  zealous  in  paying 
its  devotions  at  this  shrine  that  in  case  the  popular 
pastor  is  followed  by  one  who  does  not  please,  it 
can  go  in  the  strength  of  the  meat  received  at  the 
hands  of  his  angelic  predecessor  many  times  forty 
days  and  forty  nights.  Now,  we  submit  that  the  pop- 
ular adoration  of  "  Jack  in  the  pulpit,"  for  he  must  be 
such  and  not  a  John  the  Baptist  who  courts  such  adu- 
lation, is  quite  as  reprehensible  a  form  of  Protestant 
superstition  as  Mariolatry  or  image-worship  ever  were, 
especially  as  it  is  so  often  followed  by  a  new  "  iconoclas- 
tic controversy  "  over  the  body  of  a  successor  who 
can  not  be  made  into  the  form  of  any  image.  Let  us 
have  more  men  in  the  pulpit  who  have  the  manhood 
to  reprove,  as  Peter  did,  such  false  worship,  even  though 
they  have  all  his  human  nature,  and  we  shall  have  a 
more  manly  Christianity  in  the  pew. 

This  species  of  worship  is  nothing  new  m  ecclesias- 
tical history.  It  existed  even  in  the  days  of  the  Jew- 
ish prophets  and  called  forth  from  one  of  them,  Zach- 
ariah,  the  following  warning:  "  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
me,  Take  unto  thee  the  instrument  of  a  foolish  shep- 
herd: For  lo,  I  will  raise  up  a  shepherd  in  the  land 
which  shall  not  visit  those  that  be  hidden,  neither  shall 
seek  the  young  one,  nor  heal  that  that  is  broken,  nor 


92  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

bear  that  that  standeth  still;  but  he  shall  eat  the  flesh 
of  the  fat  and  tear  the  claws  in  pieces.  Woe  to  the 
idol  shepherd  that  leaveth  the  flock.  The  sword  shall 
be  upon  his  arm  and  upon  his  right  eye;  his  arm  shall 
be  clean  dried  up  and  his  right  eye  shall  be  utterly 
darkened."  Zech.  xi:  15-17.  We  have  known  this 
prophecy  to  be  fulfilled — idol  shepherds  who  once  had 
power  with  God  and  taught  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus, 
their  arms  now  "  clean  dried  up  and  their  right  eyes 
utterly  darkened."  Better  be  as  blunt  as  Peter,  if  not 
rude,  better  be  as  loth  to  receive  praise  as  he  was  re- 
luctant to  receive  his  visitors,  than  accept  that  flattery 
which  Shakespeare  says  is  "  the  bellows  that  blows  up 
sin."  What  shall  we  say,  then,  of  the  minister  that 
courts  it  and  dispenses  it  with  a  lavish  hand.  Simply 
this,  he  is  using  "  the  instrument  of  a  foolish  shepherd. " 
Let  our  modern  Peters  understand  that,  as  the 
church  has  a  four-fold  function  to  perform,  so  they 
have  a  four-fold  offtce  to  discharge.  As  their  hearers 
are  not  to  be  "  hearers  only,"  so  the  preachers  are  not 
to  be  preachers  only.  They  are  to  be  teachers,  pas- 
tors, ministers  or  servants,  and  priests,  in  common 
with  their  lay  brethren,  leaders,  simply,  of  the  holy 
studies,  experiences,  labors,  and  devotions  of  the  peo- 
ple. They  are  not  the  successors  only  of  the  scribes, 
or  doctors  of  the  law.  They  are  to  be  doctors,  el- 
ders of  the  people,  levites  and  chief  priests  all  in 
one.  But  as  they  are  not  to  be  called  "  Father,"  so 
let  them  not  be  called  '*  Rabbi,"  "  Doctor,"  as  if  all 
their  functions  were  discharged  in  the  fulfillment  of 
that  peculiarly  Protestant  vocation.      Modern  Phari- 


IDOLS    IN    THE    CAMP  93 

seeism  consists  less  in  hypocrisy  on  the  part  of  the 
leaders  of  the  church  than  in  one-sidedness  or  unwill- 
ingness to  be  all  that  God  would  have  them  be. 
They  would  all  be  educators.  Of  brothers,  servants 
and  fellow  saints  in  the  kingdom  there  is  a  lamentable 
lack. 

"  The  life  is  more  than  meat,"  To  "  kill  and  eat" 
is  not  the  only  command  that  proceeds  from  the  thrice 
repeated  voice  of  the  Spirit.  There  are  three  other 
words  of  command:  "  Arise,"  and  gird  thyself  for  the 
I^Iaster's  task.  "  Get  thee  down  and  go  with  them." 
"  Condescend  to  men  of  low  estate."  Let  not  your 
garments  be  thought  holier  than  theirs,  for  "  the  body  is 
more  than  raiment,"  the  soul  of  more  value  in  the 
sight  of  God  than  any  secular  dress.  "  Doubting 
nothing."  Let  not  "wrath  or  doubting"  spot  the 
hands  which  you  have  been  lifting  to  me  in  prayer. 

Be  all  this  to  these  men,  Peter,  teach  them,  walk 
by  their  side,  work  with  them  and  pray  for  them  and  the 
brethren  which  accompany  you  will  go  and  do  likewise. 
Churchianity,  eliminated  from  the  pulpit  will  be  quickly 
followed  by  its  disappearance  from  the  pew. 

It  is  not  strange  that  if  Peter-worship  be  en- 
couraged by  the  Peters  it  should  be  indulged  in 
by  the  Corneliuses.  Especially  is  this  temptation 
made  doubly  dangerous  where  Cornelius  is  conscious 
that  he  holds  in  his  single  hands  the  reins  of 
ecclesiastical  government.  On  the  canvas  of  a  paint- 
ing at  Rome,  representing  the  crowning  of  a  pope 
by  the  college  of  cardinals,  is  the  inscription  in  Latin: 
"  Whom  they  create  they  worship."     Idols  are  always 


94  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

the  "  creatures  of  men's  hands."  The  popular  pulpit 
idol  of  the  day  is  the  man  who  does  not  presume  to  be 
either  a  leader  of  public  opinion  on  religious  themes, 
or  a  fearless  and  faithful  exponent  of  the  Divine 
law  and  gospel.  He  is  a  man  subject  to  a  lay  censor- 
ship which  amounts  to  virtual  dictatorship.  He  is 
so  far  from  being  an  infallible  organ  of  religious  teach- 
ing that  he  has  resigned  this  function  entirely  and 
passed  it  over  into  the  hands  of  that  Protestant 
"  college  of  cardinals,"  the  "  officiary  "  or  "  session  " 
of  the  local  church.  We  plead  for  more  independence 
of  thought  and  action  on  the  part  of  the  Protestant 
pastor.  We  do  not  plead  for  a  restoration  of  Puri- 
tanical customs  as  to  popular  reverence  for  the  clergy. 
There  was  a  time  in  New  England  when  the  whole 
congregation  arose  as  the  minister  entered  the  church 
and  remained  standing  in  respectful  silence  until  he 
had  seated  himself  in  the  pulpit.  We  do  not  plead  for 
such  an  extreme  of  popular  reverence.  But  it  may 
be  questioned  if  the  irreverent  spirit  of  our  young 
America  has  not  developed  an  extreme  irreverence  for 
dignities  in  the  men  and  women  of  America  to-day. 
Our  boys  and  girls,  instead  of  being  taught  to  stand 
with  uncovered  or  bowed  heads  while  the  minister 
passes,  are  taught  by  parental  example  if  not  by  pre- 
cept, to  assume  at  a  very  tender  age  the  role  of  min- 
ister critics,  if  not  satirists.  "  They  are  not  afraid  to 
speak  evil  of  dignities." 

The  natural  reaction  which  follows  the  assertion  on 
the  part  of  the  idolized  pastor  of  his  right  and  duty  to 
preach  the  "  whole  counsel  of  God,"  and  "  keep  back 


IDOLS    IN    THE    CAMP  95 

nothing  that  is  profitable  "  to  the  people,  is  some  form 
of  persecution.  Thus  the  same  Lystrans,  who  one 
day  would  have  done  honor  unto  Paul  and  Barnabas 
as  unto  their  gods,  the  next  day  stone  them  and  drag 
them  half-dead  through  the  streets  of  the  city.  So 
congregations  that  have  not  the  spirit  of  Cornelius 
have  been  known  to  fly  as  quickly  from  the  one  and 
same  extreme  of  popular  adoration  to  the  other  ex- 
treme of  popular  abuse.  One  day  the  password  is 
"  Hail,"  the  next  day  it  is  "  Crucify." 

Is  it  surprising,  then,  that  the  minister  who  knows 
this  fickleness  of  our  common  human  nature  should  be 
tempted  to  "  withhold  more  than  is  meet, "  from  the  peo- 
ple. Rev.  H.  L.  Hastings  gives  expression  to  a  most 
sententious  remark  when  he  says:  "  There  was  a  time 
when,  as  Paul  preached,  Felix  trembled,  but  now 
Felix  sits  in  the  front  pew,  and  Paul  trembles  as  he 
preaches."  The  newspapers  sometimes  hit  the  nail 
on  the  head  even  when  commenting  on  church  affairs. 
The  following  is  going  the  rounds  of  the  press.  "  In 
the  days  of  John  the  Baptist,  if  a  preacher  preached 
the  whole  unsoftened  truth  and  applied  religion  to 
practical  life  they  cut  off  his  head.  In  these  days  they 
cut  off  his  salary.  The  new  plan,  as  one  says,  is  fully 
as  efficacious  as  the  old  and  avoids  funeral  expenses." 
When  the  preface  to  this  volume  was  read  to  a  cer- 
tain lady  critic,  the  following  was  her  observation  on 
the  paragraph  which  says,  "  Peter  on  the  housetop 
seems  to  us  the  figure  of  the  coming  Christian  minister; 
Cornelius  on  the  door.step,  lifted  up  by  Peter,  seems 
to    us   the  figure  of  the  coming  Christian  layman," 


96  IHxi    ANGEL    AImj    i  ixL    V  iSiON 

"  There  is  one  figure  or  figures,"  said  she,  "  which  you 
have  omitted.  It  is  the  figure  of  the  brethren  who 
accompanied  Peter  trying  to  pull  him  down  while  he 
tries  to  lift  Cornelius  up."  But  these  figures  are  in 
the  next  chapter.  "  And  when  Peter  was  come  up 
to  Jerusalem  they  that  were  of  the  circumcision  con- 
tended with  him,  saying,  '  Thou  wentest  in  unto  men 
uncircumcised  and  didst  eat  with  them.'  "  To  deprive 
the  Gentiles  of  the  Word  of  God  was  nothing  wrong. 
It  was  nothing  right  to  eat  with  the  uncircumcized.  It 
reminds  one  of  those  Jews  who  would  not  enter  the 
precincts  of  Pilate's  court  lest  they  should  be  defiled, 
at  the  same  time  crying,  "  Away  with  Him,  Crucify 
Him."  These  figures  unfortunately  still  live.  It  is  a 
greater  sin  in  the  eyes  of  some  modern  "  ruler  of  the 
Jews  "  to  try  to  save  a  sure-enough  heathen  or  sinner 
of  the  Gentiles,  if  he  happen  to  be  of  a  lower  caste, 
than  it  is  to  tarry  at  Jerusalem  and  do  nothing  in  the 
line  of  missionary  or  soul-saving  work. 

The  cure  for  churchianity  is  simple.  There  is 
needed,  first  of  all,  a  more  devout  intelligence  in  both 
pulpit  and  pew.  Every  wise  minister  has  observed 
from  his  own  experience  that  there  is  a  kind  of  popu- 
larity which  is  always  an  indication  of  either  superficial 
piety  or  the  lack  of  spiritual  intelligence  in  the  pew. 
The  only  safe  condition  for  a  self-respectful  relation 
between  any  minister  and  the  people  over  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  appointed  him  is  wise  fidelity  on 
the  one  hand  and  intelligent  piety  on  the  other.  The 
worship  of  the  priesthood  will  displace  the  worship  of 
God  in  any  church,  among  any  people,  where  there 


IDOLS    IN    THE    CAMP  97 

exists  a  spirit  of  blind  devotion  to  a  man  whose  chief 
claim  to  consideration  and  respect  is  the  office  he 
holds  and  the  work  he  is  set  to  do.  And  the  only 
way  to  prevent  the  popular  adoration  of  the  man  in  the 
pulpit  who  possesses  a  large  share  of  personal  magnet- 
ism or  foolish  pride  is  a  more  intelligent  piety  in  the 
church.  We  say  intelligent  piety.  The  piety  and  in- 
telligence must  be  conjoined  or  the  church  attendant 
possesses  no  adequate  qualification  for  the  exercise  of 
a  sympathetic  judgment  concerning  the  ministerial 
character  or  function.  Intelligence  without  piety 
leads  to  the  opposite  error  of  irreverent  criticalness 
and  presumptuous  fault-finding  with  those  who  are 
"  over  us  in  the  Lord  "  and  whom  we  should  "  esteem 
very  highly  in  love  for  their  works'  sake." 

There  is  needed,  in  the  second  place,  a  form  of 
local  church  government  which  is  truly  democratic 
and  in  harmony  with  the  genius  of  our  republican  in- 
stitutions. Let  the  people  rule.  In  the  end  they  will 
come  to  themselves,  though  at  times  they  may  be 
seized  with  strange  infatuations  or  misguided  impulses. 
"  You  can  fool  some  of  the  people  all  the  time  and  all 
the  people  some  of  the  time,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  but 
you  can  not  fool  all  the  people  all  the  time."  There- 
fore, government  is  safer  in  the  hands  of  the  many 
than  in  the  hands  of  the  few. 

Of  all  forms  of  church  government,  as  of  political 
power,  the  worst  is  the  aristocratic.  Better  is  the 
autocratic.  Best  of  all  is  the  democratic.  The  Apostolic 
church,  as  can  be  readily  seen  from  a  careful  perusal 
of   the   15th  chapter   of   Acts,   which  is   the   proper 


98  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

sequel  to  this  loth  chapter  we  are  considering  was 
democratic.  "The  apostles  and  elders, "  the  "  bish- 
ops and  pastors  "  of  that  day  first  considered  the  mat- 
ter of  the  admission  of  Gentiles  to  the  church  and  dis- 
cussed it  in  council,  but  no  decision  was  reached  and 
no  decrees  passed  until  "  the  whole  multitude  of  the 
disciples"  had  been  consulted.  The  common  people, 
thus  honored,  will  never  become  idolaters. 

Reverence  for  the  church  or  even  for  the  Bible 
•may  be  carried  to  an  extreme  that  really,  if  not  con- 
sciously substitutes  the  form  for  the  substance  and 
the  letter  for  the  spirit.  Life  is  before  organization  and 
the  end  is  always  greater  than  the  means.  We  can 
not  be  too  often  reminded  of  this  in  these  times  when 
popular  disrespect  for  religious  institutions  is  too  often 
met  by  a  high  churchism  that  is  equally  distant  from  a 
just  and  proper  self  respect,  a  true  reverence  for  the 
Divine  Head  of  the  church  and  a  tender  regard  for 
the  welfare  of  men. 


PREFIX  TO  CHAPTER  VI. 


^^  And  as  /le  talked  with  him,  he  went  in  and  findeth  many  come 
together;  and  he  said  unto  them,  Ye  yourselves  know  how  that  it  is 
an  unlaxvful  thing  for  a  man  that  is  a  Jeiu  to  join  himself  or  come 
ioito  one  of  another  nation;  atidyet  mtto  me  hath  God  sho^ved  that 
I  should  not  call  any  man  common  or  unclean." — Acts  x:  27,  28. 

"  Here  we  can  not  but  recall  what  we  have  read  in  Jewish  his- 
tory regarding  the  relation  of  the  superior  Jews  to  the  occupa- 
tion of  a  tanner.  Modern  writers  have  related  instances  of  a 
prejudice  which  to  the  Western  mind  must  be  simply  preposter- 
ous. An  ancient  Rabbi  said  "It  is  impossible  that  the  world 
can  do  without  tanners,  but  woe  unto  that  man  who  is  a  tanner." 
I  remember  that  Simon  Peter,  primate  of  the  apostles,  the  sen- 
ior disciple,  lodged  with  one  Simon,  a  tanner.  The  address  is 
vaguely  given,  "whose  house  is  by  the  seaside."  The  reason 
being  that  the  Jews  would  not  have  tanneries  in  the  town.  Tan- 
neries were  a  necessity,  a  hated  and  detested  necessity,  but  they 
must  be  kept  as  far  out  of  the  town  as  possible,  in  the  sea,  if  the 
impious  Jews  could  have  had  their  way.  The  tanner  was  not 
allowed  to  have  his  place  of  business  within  fifty  cubits  of  the 
town.  He  was  kept  at  a  greater  distance  still,  if  he  happened 
to  pursue  his  business  at  the  west  end  of  the  town.  If  a  man 
married  without  telling  his  bride  that  he  was  a  tanner  she  could 
instantly  demand  a  release  from  the  nuptial  vow.  You  see  then 
how  stubborn  were  the  prejudices  which  the  higher  Jews  enter- 
tained against  the  occupation  of  tanning  and  yet  v/e  read,  as  if  it 
involved  no  extraordinary  principle  or  secret,  that  Peter  lodged 
or  "tarried  many  days  with  one  Simon,  a  tanner." — ^Joseph 
Parker. 


Let  Me  Die. 


1.  0  God,  my  heart  doth  long  for  Thee,  Let   me   die, 

2.  Thy  sav-  injipow'r  in  me  display.        Let   me   die, 

3.  Oh,     I   must  die  to  scofifs  and  jeers.     Let   me   die. 


|_P-^ A-  -^  — N— P ^-p ^-__       jSp. 


let  me  die; 
let  me  die; 
let    me    die; 


Now  set  my  soul  at  lib  -  er  -  ty, 
I  must  be  dead  from  day  to  day, 
I     must  be  free  from  slavish  fears, 


Let  me  die, 
Let  me  die. 
Let   me    die, 


let  me  die. 
let  me  die. 
let     me    die. 


mf 


m^ 


to  me  of  lit  -  tie  worth, 


To     all  the  trifling  things  of  earth.  They  are 

Un  -  to   the  world  and  its  applause.    To    all  the  customs,  fashions,  laws. 

So   dead  that  no  desire  shall  rise,      To   pass   for  good, or  great, or  wise, 

H^     -       -      0  .      .        (=2    •  (•  _     .      -^  ^  •      «        f=2- 


~^t-t-t 


-u—v—t 


fMA 


rail.  et.  dim. 


My    Saviour  calls,I'm  going   forth,  Let   me  die. 

Of  those  who  take  tho  humbling  cross.  Let   me  die,., 

In     an   -   y  but  my  Saviour's  eyes,  Let   me  die,.. 

N     ^ 


-A— A-A- 


let  me  die. 
let  me  die. 
let    me  die. 

I 


:5=!ti5: 


I 

Begin  at  once  to  drive  the  nail, 

Let  me  die,  let  me  die  : 
Oh,  suffer  not  my  heart  to  fiiil. 

Let  me  die,  let  tne  dio; 

Jesus,  I  look  to  Thee  for  power, 

To  help  me  to  endure  this  hour 

When  crucified  by  sov'reign  pow'r, 

I  shall  die,  I  shall  die. 


mm^mM^m^ 


1 5  Now  I  am  dead ;  then.  Lord,  to  Thee 

I  I  shall  live,  I  shall  live; 

I      My  time,  my  strength,  my  all  to  Thee 

I  do  give,  I  do  give. 
I      Oh,  how  the  Son  doth  make  me  free, 
I     Then,  Lord,  I  give  my  all  to  Thee; 
I      For  time  and  for  eternity, 

I  shall  live,  I  shall  live. 


CHAPTER  V  I. 


comradeship;  or,  the  cure  for  caste. 

And  who  was  Simon,  the  son  of  Jonas,  that  he 
should  call  any  man  common  ?  He  who  had  left  his 
rude  fisherman's  boat  and  nets  and  the  cheap  house  by 
the  seashore  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  Nazarene 
certainly  had  not  much  in  which  to  glory  "  concerning 
the  flesh."  Moreover,  Peter  had  at  times  exhibited  a 
most  ignoble  spirit.  He  scarcely  rose  to  the  dignity 
of  a  "  page  "  when,  in  the  court  of  the  high  priest's 
palace,  he  sat  with  the  servants  and  cursed  and  swore 
that  he  knew  not  the  man  of  Galilee.  He  whose 
spirit  as  well  as  speech  betrayed  him  on  that  occasion 
showed  himself  at  another  time  a  most  unchivalrous 
defender  of  his  Lord.  If  he  had  been  a  true  and  val- 
iant knight,  and  not  a  rather  cowardly  "  squire,"  he 
would  not  have  drawn  his  sword  upon  an  unarmed 
retainer  of  Caiaphas*  household.  He  would  have 
chosen  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel.  As  it  was,  the 
high  priest's  servant  was  quite  worthy  of  Peter's  rank. 
For,  apart  from  the  dignity  imposed  by  his  Christian 
calling,  Peter  was  nobody — one  of  "  the  base  things  of 
the  world  and  the  things  that  are  despised,  yea  and  the 
things  that  are  not  "  which  God  did  choose  "  to  bring 


102  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

to  naught  the  things  that  are;  that  no  flesh  should  glory 
before  Him." 

Had  it  been  the  apostle  Paul  who  was  in  the  habit 
of  calling  men  common,  one  should  not  have  been  so 
much  surprised.  For  he  had  whereof  he  might  "  glory 
in  the  flesh;  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  as  touching  the 
law,  a  Pharisee;  as  touching  zeal,  persecuting  the 
church;  as  touching  the  righteousness  which  is  in  the 
law,  found  blameless."  Paul  might  have  manifested 
an  aristocratic  spirit  with  some  show  of  reason  for  he 
zvas  superior  to  other  men  in  all  those  things  which  are 
"  highly  esteemed  among  men."  He  was  of  pure  Jew- 
ish blood,  liberally  educated,  of  distinguished  ability 
and  with  an  energy  corresponding  to  his  talents,  above 
all,  of  irreproachable  moral  character  and  perhaps, 
before  he  became  one  of  "  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes" 
possessed  of  some  wealth.  But  Peter,  who  was  he  that 
he  should  exhalt  himself  before  men  } 

Perhaps  he  did  not  do  so.  Certainly  the  traditional 
representation  of  Peter  as  the  first  pope  is  obviously 
false.  Perhaps  all  that  is  meant  by  the  words  "  common 
and  unclean  "  in  this  connection  is  "  sinner  of  the  Gen- 
tiles." Yet  this  was  a  manifestation  of  the  caste 
spirit;  yea,  the  worst  form  of  it,  the  most  unchristian 
of  all.  For  did  not  Jesus  eat  and  drink  with  "  publi- 
cans and  sinners  "  }  And  could  not  Peter  learn  from 
his  example  to  condescend  to  men  of  low  moral  as 
well  as  temporal  estate.  Well  did  the  master  say  to 
this  same  apostle  when  he  objected  to  the  act  of  feet- 
washing.     "  What  I  do,   thou  knowest  not  now,  but 


COMRADESHIP  IO3 

thou  shalt  know,  hereafter."  The  significance  of  that 
profoundly  humble  and  condescending  act  on  the  part 
of  the  Master,  Peter  was  for  the  first  time  beginning 
to  really  learn.  It  was  the  Christ's  rebuke  to  all 
caste — especially  of  the  Pharisaic  type. 

As  to  the  actual  existence  of  this  caste  spirit  in  all 
its  forms  today — it  is  quite  superfluous  to  go  into  the 
proof  of  it.  No  one  who  has  had  opportunity  for 
wide  observation  will  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  declare 
its  prevalence.  Says  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson:  "  The  sim- 
ple fact  is  (and  we  know  it)  that  the  communion  of 
saintliness  is  displaced  by  the  communion  of  respect- 
ability. Our  churches  are  becoming  the  quarters  of  a 
monopoly,  and  the  workingman  sees  and  feels  it.  And 
it  has  come  to  be  a  fact  that  I,  as  a  Christain  minister, 
no  longer  propose  to  deny  or  dispute.  There  is  no 
real  democracy  in  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  in  this 
day,  with  a  few  startling  and  glorious  exceptions. 
There  is,  in  some  cases,  an  oligarchy,  the  rule  of  a 
few;  in  some  cases  a  plutocracy — the  rule  of  the  rich; 
in  some  cases  an  aristocracy;  at  the  best — the  rule  of 
the  cultured  and  really  higher  classes;  but,  in  very  few 
instances,  a  true  Christian  democracy,  such  as  Jesus 
Christ  meant  the  church  of  God  to  be." 

Perhaps  this  is  an  extreme  statement,  although  a 
truthful  report  of  observations  taken  within  the  field 
of  a  single  denomination, 

"What  may  be  truthfully  said  is  this,"  says  Dr. 
Washington  Gladden  "  that  there  are  local 
churches — a  considerable  number  of  them — whose 
administration  is  such  that  they  hinder  more  than  they 


104  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

help  the  progress  of  the  kingdom.  There  are  local 
churches  which  are,  essentially,  religious  clubs.  The 
principles  on  which  they  are  organized,  the  methods 
of  their  administration  are  all  assimilated  to  those  of  the 
religious  club.  They  welcome  only  those  whose  opin- 
ions and  tendencies  are  similar  to  their  own;  they  take 
no  pains  to  attract  to  their  membership  those  who 
would  not  be  congenial;  they  present  before  the 
community  a  certain  attitude  of  exclusiveness. "  Dr. 
Josiah  Strong,  in  the  Nezv  Era,  gives  some  striking 
instances  of  the  exhibition  of  this  spirit.  "  In  a  prayer- 
meeting  in  a  prominent  church  in  the  East,  a  gentle- 
man rose  and  said  *  I  called  on  that  man  who  saved 
the  lives  of  so  many  at  the  fire  the  other  day  and 
found  that  his  family  are  poor,  and  that  they  attend 
no  church;  I  invited  him  to  our  church;  and  now,  I 
hope,  brethren,  when  they  come,  if  they  do  come, 
you  will  give  them  a  cordial  welcome,  and  make  room 
for  them  in  your  pews.'  When  he  took  his  seat  the 
wealthiest  and  most  influential  man  in  the  church 
arose  and  said:  *  I  don't  want  any  such  man  or  family 
in  my  pew;  I  don't  want  them  near  my  pew;  I  don't 
want  them  in  this  church.'  The  pastor  of  that 
church  was  angry  and  sinned  not,  and  when  he  arose 
to  rebuke  that  spirit  he  said:  ♦  I  will  not  cease  my 
efforts  until  yonder  door  swings  in  to  the  lightest 
touch  of  the  poorest  man  in  this  city. '  But  that  pas- 
tor, though  a  man  of  great  ability  and  of  national 
reputation,  was  presently  unseated. 

"  In  another  prayer-meeting  a  member  said :  '  I  want 
your  prayers  for  a  man  who  has  been  a  slave  to  drink. 


COMRADESHIP  I OS 

*  *  *  Pray  for  him;  he's  a  gentleman;  he's  no 
'bum.'  He's  worth  $200,000;  he's  worth  saving.' 
Preference  for  '  the  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  goodly 
apparel'  is  not  always  so  frankly  expressed,  but  this 
speaker  represents  a  large  class  who  '  have  the  faith 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  respect  to  persons. ' 

"  There  is  a  church  in  the  Mississippi  valley  which  is 
'  rich  and  increased  with  goods  and  hath  need  of  noth- 
ing ' — nothing  except  some  Christianity,  whose  pastor, 
it  is  said,  when  some  working  girls  presented  them- 
selves for  membership,  discouraged  them,  not  on  the 
ground  that  the  evidence  of  their  Christian  experience 
was  unsatisfactory,  but  because  there  would  be  no 
'  affinity, '  no  '  congeniality, '  between  them  and  his 
flock.  It  was  that  same  church  of  which  the  story  is 
told  that  when  a  reformed  drunkard  presented  himself 
for  membership,  he  was  informed  by  one  of  the  officers 
that  he  believed  there  were  no  vacancies  in  the  mem- 
bership of  the  church  just  at  that  time.  '  I  was  a 
stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in.  *  *  *  Inasmuch 
as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these  ye  did  it 
not  to  me.'  " 

Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley  tells  the  story  of  a  judge  of  much 
ability  in  a  Western  town  whose  family  had  belonged 
to  three  different  churches.  He  was  asked  if  he  had 
changed  his  religious  sentiments  so  often.  "  Oh,  no," 
said  he,  "  When  we  first  settled  here,  there  was  only 
one  church  in  the  town,  and  that  was  the  Methodist. 
We  went  to  it  and  were  happy  enough  until  the  Pres- 
byterian came  in.  My  wife  said  that  it  was  certain 
that  they  were  going  to  draw  the  cream  of  the  society 


I06  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

of  the  place  into  it.  They  erected  a  better  structure 
than  the  Methodists  had,  and  called  an  educated  and 
refined  minister  and  a  very  prepossessing  man.  We 
joined  them  and  felt  very  happy  there  until  the  Epis- 
copalians came  in.  They  built  a  very  handsome 
Gothic  church.  My  wife  said  that  the  children  were 
just  growing  up  and  that  they  ought  to  have  all  the 
advantages  of  society  that  they  could  get  and  in  fact 
she  observed  that  she  had  always  liked  the  liturgy 
and  so,  notwithstanding  we  had  been  very  happy  in 
the  Presbyterian  church  and  liked  the  minister  very 
much,  we  drew  out  and  went  into  the  Episcopal. 
There  we  are  now.  Perhaps  we  shall  stay  there  till 
we  die.  But  I  am  always  afraid  that  the  Unitarians 
or  somebody  else  will  come  in  here,  and  get  up  a 
more  select  coterie,  and  then  we  will  have  to  go;  and 
that,"  says  the  judge  "  is  the  way  it  comes  that  I  have 
changed  my  church  relations  three  times  without 
changing  my  sentiments." 

Similar  incidents  have  come  under  the  writer's  ob- 
servation, two  of  which  might  be  mentioned,  if  further 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  this  spirit  in  our  churches 
were  necessary.  In  a  certain  Western  city  the  fruits 
of  a  Summer  gospel  meeting  held  in  a  tent — an  outing 
rendered  necessary  by  the  closeness  of  the  old  church, 
a  section  of  which  had  been  sold  to  make  way  for  a 
business  block,  walling  up  the  auditorium  completely 
on  one  side — were  referred  to  contemptuously  by  an 
official  member  as  "the  rag-tag  and  bob-tail"  of 
society.  Yet  these  converts  all  continued  faithful  and 
in  the  subscription  taken  for  the  new  church  building 


COMRADESHIP  lO/ 

they  all  gave  and  gave  more  liberally,  according  to 
their  ability,  than  the  aforesaid  gentleman  who  thus 
politely  stigmatized  them.  They  were  not  cordially 
welcomed  to  the  society  because  it  was  not  thought 
they  would  add  much  to  its  financial  strength  and 
social  standing. 

In  another  Eastern  town,  a  lady  who  prides  herself 
on  her  social  standing,  took  such  umbrage  at  the 
pastor  for  receiving  certain  poor  but  worthy  women 
into  the  church,  "  of  whom,"  she  said,  "  it  would  take 
a  dozen  to  make  one  respectable  member,"  that  she 
withdrew  from  attendance  on  the  author's  ministry. 
It  would  be  well  if  all  v/ho  are  controlled  by  such  a 
spirit  would  retire  permanently  from  all  connection 
with  our  churches,  until  they  can  learn  as  Peter  did, 
to  call  no  man  common  or  unclean. 

But  what  is  the  cure  for  this  acknowledged  evil  ? 
Is  there  not  a  balm  in  Gilead  that  will  remedy  such  a 
grievous  sin  ?  We  think  there  is.  Here  are  some 
vials,  not  of  wrath,  but  of  medicine,  which  we  would 
prescribe  as  a  cure.  Taken  singly  they  will  not  effect 
a  perfect  healing.  Taken  all  together  we  think  they 
will. 

I.  A  Thorotigh  C  Oliver  si  071. — At  the  time  Peter  fell 
down  on  his  knees  before  Jesus  in  the  fishing  boat  and 
cried:  "  Depart  from  me  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  O, 
Lord,"  he  would  not  have  called  any  man  common 
or  unclean.  The  overpowering  sense  of  his  common 
human  weakness  and  his  need  of  the  one  Lord  and 
Savior  of  us  all  would  have  overcome  all  his  moral 
prejudices.      But  it  is  possible  that  spiritual  pride  had 


I08  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE   VISION 

in  some  measure  sprung  up  with  the  rise  m  Peter's 
fortunes.  He  had  no  thorn  in  the  flesh  to  keep  him 
humble  as  Paul  had,  so  that  when  he  began  to  reap 
the  "  hundred-fold  in  this  life  "  which  Jesus  had  prom- 
ised to  those  who  had  forsaken  even  their  "  little  all " 
to  follow  him,  Peter,  like  Jeshurun  "  waxed  fat  and 
kicked."  Not  that  he  had  grown  rich  in  houses  and 
lands,  but  "  fathers  and  mothers  and  brothers  and 
sisters."  We  believe  that  when  he  went  up  upon  the 
housetop  to  pray  he  was  "exalted  above  measure." 
On  a  subsequent  occasion  he  fell  again  into  the  same 
sin.      (Gal.  ii:  1 1-14.) 

Says  an  eminent  religious  writer,  "  The  regenerating 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  life  destroys  the  aristocratic  spirit,  when  the 
eyes  that  have  been  filled  with  tears  of  repentance  are 
filled  with  tears  of  joy,  when  the  heart  that  has  long 
been  hardened  by  the  sense  of  guilt  receives  the 
Divine  comforts.  The  eunuch  of  great  authority  under 
Candace,  Queen  of  the  Ethiopians,  accepts  baptism 
from  Philip,  the  humblest  follower  of  Christ.  When 
Saul  passes  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  God's  dear 
children,  he  seeks  those  whom  he  persecuted.  On 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  "  They  that  believed  were 
together  and  had  all  things  in  common."  No  instance 
can  be  produced  from  the  Scriptures  or  from  modern 
times,  of  a  genuine  conversion,  marked  by  a  lively 
hope,  the  love,  joy,  peace  and  other  fruits  of  the 
Spirit  which,  in  its  first  exhibitions,  did  not  reveal  the 
entire  destruction  of  this  spirit.  Subsequently  men 
and  women  yield  to  the  influence  of  former  habits  of 


COMRADESHIP  IO9 

thought,  action,  speech  and  association;  but  during 
the  complete  reign  of  the  new  life  when  the  mind  is 
filled  with  the  love  of  God  and  with  the  peace  which 
passes  all  understanding,  they  look  upon  every  one  as 
a  brother  that  has  obtained  like  precious  faith  and  see 
beneath  the  roughest  garments  the  lineaments  of  a 
a  man  in  Jesus  Christ." 

That  this  must  be  so  is  apparent  from  a  considera- 
tion of  the  nature  of  the  tie  which  binds  Christian  be- 
lievers together.  It  is  not  the  possession  of  property  in 
common.  The  Christians  of  Jerusalem,  who  practiced 
communism,  St.  James  admonishes  on  the  subject  of 
"  having  respect  of  persons."  Communism  does  not 
necessarily  produce  the  spirit  of  true  fraternity.  Nor 
is  the  tie  that  binds,  the  possession  of  gifts,  intel- 
lectual or  spiritual,  in  common.  But  it  is  the  pos- 
session of  a  "  common  salvation."  The  true  children 
of  the  king  recognize  each  other  without  any  other  in- 
troduction than  that  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  The  invisible 
church  is  a  secret  society  whose  grips  and  pass-words 
are  known  only  to  those  who  have  been  initiated  into 
the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom.  It  is  a  family  whose 
condition  of  membership  is  blood-relationship  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "  Who  were  born,  not  of  blood, 
nor  of  the  will  of  man,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh, 
but  of  God." 

But  the  lesson  Peter  learned  was  one  of  social 
recognition.  Had  he  been  unwilling  to  join  himself 
socially  to  the  two  household  servants  of  Cornelius, 
calling  them  in  and  lodging  them,  going  with  them  on 
fhe  journey  and  entering  into  the  home  of  Cornelius, 


no  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

he  could  not  have  preached  the  Gospel  to  them;  for 
they  did  not  come  to  him,  they  sent  for  him  and  sent 
for  him  to  come  into  their  house.  And  Peter  v^^as 
commanded  to  go  and,  after  the  sermon,  accepted 
their  invitation  to  "tarry  with  them  certain  days." 
To  be  friendly  with  certain  brothers  or  sisters  in  the 
church,  whom  we  decline  to  recognize  on  the  street; 
to  pray  for  them  in  the  revival  meeting  and  yet  refuse 
to  visit  them  at  their  homes,  especially  in  times  of 
affliction,  is  to  exhibit  a  patronizing  spirit  which  is  no 
more  truly  fraternal,  which  is  quite  as  unchristian  as 
that  more  avowed  assertion  of  superiority  which  would 
refuse  all  friendly  recognition  whatsoever.  Is  this  that 
pattern  of  the  perfect  society  of  heaven  to  which  all 
true  believers  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  entitled  to 
admission  and  of  which  the  church  on  earth  is  to  be 
an  example  .''  When  we  reach  heaven  will  we  recog- 
nize each  other  in  the  multitude  about  the  throne,  but 
fail  to  know  each  other  as  we  pass  along  the  streets  of 
the  New  Jerusalem  ? 

II. — A  second  vial  we  open  is  Sanctified  Comvion 
Sense.  When  Peter  said  "  Not  so.  Lord,"  he  was  in  a 
kind  of  stupor.  He  was  in  a  trance.  If  he  had  been 
fully  awake  he  might  not  have  seen  things  as  he  did. 
Peter  on  the  housetop,  overcome  by  the  faintness  of 
hunger  and  heat  and  dazzled  by  the  resplendent  vision, 
was  not  in  possession  of  that  full  stock  of  common 
sense  which  usually  characterized  his  later  utterances. 
So  when  people  are  dazzled  by  the  "  vain  pomp  and 
glory  of  this  world"  at  some  fashionable  party  or  re- 
ception, captivated  by  the  brilliant  costumes,  the  high 


COMRADESHIP  1 1  I 

sounding  titles,  the  badges  of  worldly  honor,  the 
court  ideal  of  society  with  its  graded  ranks  and  stately 
etiquette,  may  seem  attractive.  But  a  little  subse- 
quent reflection  in  the  cool  air  of  night,  after  the  fitful 
fever  of  the  ball  room  is  over,  suffices  to  show  to 
common  sense  that  it  is  mostly  a  vain  show  and  that 
it  is  impossible  that  these  distinctions  should  all  rest 
upon  merit  rather  than  upon  a  desire  for  the  praise  of 
men.  It  is  said  that  the  priests  of  ancient  Rome  could 
not  look  into  each  other's  faces  as  they  passed  on  the 
streets  without  smiling  at  the  thought  of  the  bare-faced 
fraud  they  were  engaged  in  perpetuating.  This  was 
at  the  time  when  the  priests  and  philosophers  had  lost 
faith  in  the  popular  religion.  Society  also  has  its  su- 
perstitions. It  seems  to  me  that  in  the  last  decade  of 
this  democratic  century  people  who  cherish  the  aristo- 
cratic spirit,  however  solemnly  they  may  observe, 
from  force  of  worldly  custom,  the  laws  of  fashionable 
life,  must  laugh  in  their  sleeves  at  their  own  folly 
when  the  farce  is  over  for  the  night.  It  is  too  late  in 
the  day  of  the  world's  history  for  people  to  cherish 
such  delusions.  The  common  sense  of  the  race  ought 
to  rescue  it  from  such  a  snare. 

As  Peter,  the  unschooled  and  unlettered  fisherman, 
advances  in  that  culture  of  both  head  and  heart  which 
we  believe  to  be  one  of  the  fruits  of  Christianity,  God 
teaches  him  that  true  culture,  like  true  religion, 
abolishes  this  spirit.  It  does  not  say  "  stand  off,  I  am 
wiser  or  better  than  thou. "  It  is  a  sophomore  culture 
that  looks  down  upon  the  members  of  "  the  lower 
classes"  even  as  it  is  a  Pharisaic  religion  which  says 


112         THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  VISION 

"This  people  that  know  not  the  law  are  cursed." 
The  law  of  Christ  is  thus  expressed  :  "  Ye  that  are 
strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak."  Ig- 
norance, so  far  from  being  an  excuse  for  the  wise 
man's  neglect,  constitutes  a  claim  upon  his  superior 
knowledge,  just  as  vice,  instead  of  affording  a  plea 
for  the  holy  man's  condemiUation,  constitutes  a  call 
upon  him  for  its  reformation.  True  Christian  culture 
and  the  true  Christian  religion  recognize  this  law  of 
the  ministry  of  the  higher  to  the  lower.  The  caste 
spirit  is  a  flat  contradiction  of  the  fundamental  law  of 
Christ  :  "  He  that  would  be  chief  among  you  let  him 
be  the  servant  of  all." 

III. — Still  a  third  vial  is  a  True  Christian  Aristoc- 
racy founded  upon  this  law  of  Christ.  Carlyle  says  : 
"  In  a  valiant  suffering  for  others,  not  in  a  slothful 
making  of  others  suffer  for  us,  did  nobleness  ever  lie. 
The  chief  of  men  is  he  who  stands  in  the  van  of  men, 
fronting  the  peril  which  frightens  back  all  others, 
which,  if  it  be  not  vanquished,  will  drown  the  others. 
Every  noble  crown  is,  and  on  earth  will  forever  be,  a 
crown  of  thorns."  And  again  the  same  writer  gives 
utterance  to  the  same  truth.  "  The  ignorant  submit 
to  the  wise  ;  for  so  it  is  in  all,  even  the  rudest  com- 
munities, man  never  yields  himself  to  brute  force  but 
always  to  moral  greatness.  Thus  the  universal  title 
of  respect  from  the  oriental  sheik,  from  the  sachem 
of  the  red  Indians,  down  to  our  English  sir,  impHes 
only  that  he  whom  we  wish  to  honor  is  our  senior.'''' 

Far  be  it  from  us  to  deny  that  there  are  ranks  and 
gradations  among  men  based  upon  distinctions  of  true 


COMRADESHIP  113 

moral  worth  and  also  degrees  of  glory  in  Christ's 
kingdom.  But  such  worth  will  manifest  itself  in  a 
sense  of  unworthiness  and  such  glory  is  always  recog- 
nized as  a  grace.  "  What  have  we  then  which  we 
have  not  received  and  who  maketh  us  to  differ.^" 

Besides,  there  is  an  aristocracy  based  on  custom 
v/hich,  when  of  long  standing,  often  becomes  compar- 
atively worthy  of  respect.  The  aristocrat  "  to  the 
manor  born  "  is  not  so  haughty  as  the  one  whom  for- 
tune or  popular  favor  has  suddenly  raised  above  his 
fellows.  A  "  codfish  aristocracy  "  is  always  the  most 
offensively  self-assertive;  the  "  shoddy  genteel  "  is  usu- 
ally as  contemptible  in  his  manners  as  he  is  cheap  in  the 
material  of  which  he  is  made.  The  truly  elect  lady  or 
gentleman  is  one  who  is  apparently  and,  under  most 
circumstances,  really  unconscious  of  his  superiority  to 
others.  "  Only  a  spurious  refinement  or  a  tottering 
dignity  requires  offensive  self-assertion.  Either  can 
bear  contact  with  men  and  women  of  any  class." 

IV. — Another  vial  is  Courtesy  or  a  Due  Consideration 
for  the  Rights  and  Feelings  of  Others.  The  tender- 
hearted Cowper  writes: 

"  I  would  not  enter  upon  my  list  of  friends 
The  man  (though  of  polished  manners 
And  of  fine  sense,  yet  lacking  sensibility) 
Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm. 
An  inadvertent  step  may  crush  the  snail 
That  crawls  at  evening  in  the  public  path, 
But  he  who  has  humanity,  forewarned, 
Will  tread  aside  and  let  the  reptile  live." 

Ours  is  an  age  when  "  societies  for  the  prevention  of 
cruelty  to  animals  "  flourish,  yet,  like  Peter,  while  we 


1  14  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

would  not  "  kill  and  eat,"  we  yet  manifest  a  worse  in- 
humanity to  man.  We  call  men  common  and  crush 
them  beneath  the  feet  of  cruel  indifference  or  neglect 
when,  pride  is  too  much  ashamed  of  itself  to  raise  its 
hand  or  tongue  to  strike.  An  indifference  to  the  social 
and  spiritual  need  of  the  "  common  people  "  as  exhib- 
ited in  our  caste  churches  is  a  form  of  inhumanity 
which  the  masses  so  keenly  feel  that  they  will  not  come 
into  an  ecclesiastical  atmosphere  where  such  coldness 
reigns.  For  they  rightly  judge  that  entire  lack  of 
sympathy  is  only  a  polite  form  of  inhospitality. 

V. — This  leads  us  to  perscribe  a  fifth  remedy,  viz. 
Personal  Contact  with  Men  of  Every  Class.  Peter 
learned  more  through  his  personal  intercourse  with  the 
men  sent  from  Cornelius  than  from  any  other  source. 
It  was  through  personal  touch  with  these  Gentiles  that 
he  learned  how  uncommon  they  were.  One  reason 
why  men,  as  a  rule,  are  less  dominated  by  the  caste 
spirit  than  women,  is  because  they  come  more  into 
contact  with  the  world;  are  less  confined  to  the  four 
walls  of  their  own  homes.  Business  men  know  better 
how  the  other  half  lives  than  society  women.  They 
have  customers  that  are  poor  yet  strictly  honest,  others 
that  are  rich  and  yet  would  rob  them  if  they  could  re- 
spectably do  so.  The  politician  of  high  social  position 
meets  poor  men  whose  votes  can  not  be  bought  and 
learns  from  observation  that  "  the  rank  is  but  the 
guinea's  stamp.  A  man's  a  man  for  a'  that  and  a'  that." 
If  our  American  women,  with  all  their  liberty,  would 
mingle  more  fully  with  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
people  they  would  come  to   Pope's  conclusion  that 


COMRADESHIP  I  I  5 

"Worth  makes  the  man  and  want  of  it  the  fellow, 
The  rest  is  all  but  leather  and  prunella." 

Likewise  will  co-operation  in  the  work  of  life  on 
the  part  of  those  who  labor  with  brain  and  those  who 
work  with  brawn  bring  the  same  conviction.  A  gentle- 
man stood  on  the  Brooklyn  Bridge  watching  a  tug 
drawing  after  it  an  ocean  vessel.  He  remarked  in  jest 
to  the  bride  who  stood  at  his  side:  "  Such  is  life.  Man 
is  the  tug  that  draws  the  so-called  weaker  vessel." 
"  Just  so,"  remarked  the  lady,  "  woman  is  the  vessel 
that  carries  the  heavy  freight."  Standing  on  the 
bridge  of  some  sociological  theory  it  may  look,  as  it 
does  to  Mr.  Bellamy,  that  one-half  of  humanity  are 
drawing  the  stage  coach  and  the  others  riding  on 
the  top.  But  when  the  capitalist  and  the  laborer 
come  to  understand  each  other  in  the  only  way  that 
such  a  thing  is  possible,  by  personal  contact  and 
co-operation,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  burdens  of 
life  are  not  so  unequally  divided  after  all,  and  a  senti- 
ment of  mutual  respect,  new  so  much  needed,  will  be 
developed. 

VI. — Our  sixth  vial  is  Certain  Convictions  Regarding 
the  Redemption  of  Christ  and  the  Coming  of  His  King- 
dom. We  must  recognize  the  great  fact  that  the  whole 
world  is  redeemed.  Even  its  "  four-footed  beasts 
of  the  earth  and  fowls  of  the  air  and  creeping  things." 
"  The  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  together  in 
pain  until  now,"  "  waiting  for  the  revealing  of  the  sons 
of  God."  The  earth  itself  is  no  longer  under  a  curse, 
but  under  the  blessing  of  the  cross.  The  very  land  of 
our  globe  is  being  reclaimed  from  savagery  by  the 
hand  of  Christian  civilization. 


Il6  THE    ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

"The  world  we  live  in  wholly  is  redeemed; 
Not  man  alone,  but  all  that  man  holds  dear; 
His  orchard  and  his  maize — forget-me-nots 
And  hearts-ease  in  his  garden  and  the  wild 
Aerial  blossoms  of  the  untamed  wood 
That  makes  its  savag'ry  so  homelike — all 
Have  felt  Christ's  sweet  love  watering  their  roots. 
There  are  no  Gentile  oaks,  no  Pagan  pines; 
The  grass  beneath  our  feet  is  Christian  grass; 
The  wayside  weed  is  sacred  unto  him." 

If  God,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  cov- 
enant, has  thus  sanctified  nature,  how  much  more  has 
He  redeemed  man,  both  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
and  by  the  restraining,  if  not  renewing,  influences  of 
His  Holy  Spirit. 

"There's  not  a  pirate  in  the  Indian  Ocean, 
God  dwells  not  in,  with  tides  of  pure  emotion, 
Seeking  to  hallow,  sanctify,  inspire 
And  lift  him  from  that  hell  of  inward  fire 
Whose  scorching  madness  desolates,  defiles. 
Degrades  his  spirit  in  those  barbarous  isles, 
Where  gory  cannibals  lap  human  blood, 
And  gnash  their  teeth  upon  half  living  food 
Of  man  and  brothers;  God  is  not  afar. 
He  worketh  there  as  where  the  angels  are, 
Seeking  to  change  those  human  wolves  to  men, 
While  angels  breathe  from  Heaven  Amen,  Amen." 

The  man  who  has  been  up  on  the  housetop  and  seen 
this  latter  day  vision  will  have  respect  for  the  Divine 
image  in  every  man,  and  regard  no  man  as  utterly  lost 
since  Christ  has  died. 

Vn. — The  last  vial  we  open  is,  A  serious  Contempla- 
tion of  Our  Latter  End.  The  spade  of  the  grave-digger 
is  the  great  leveler.  It  does  not  "  level  up."  Noth- 
ing but  the  life  in  Christ  can  do  that.     Death  always 


COMRADESHIP  1 1  7 

"levels  down."  But,  it  is  well  enough  for  us  to 
remember,  when,  lifted  up  by  pride  we  are  likely  to  fall 
into  this  snare  of  the  Devil,  that, 

"  Imperial  Caesar,  dead,  and  turned  to  clay. 
Might  stop  a  hole  to  keep  the  wind  away." 

Nature  at  least  is  no  respecter  of  persons.      Our 
bodies  shall  all  turn  to  the  same  kind  of  dust  and  clay. 

"  A  Brahmin  on  a  lotus  pod 
Once  wrote  the  holy  name  of  God. 
Then,  planting  it,  he  asked  in  prayer 
For  some  new  fruit,  unknown  and  fair. 
A  slave  near  by,  who  bore  a  load, 
Fell  fainting  on  the  dusty  road. 
The  Brahmin,  pitying,  straightway  ran 
And  lifted  up  the  fallen  man. 
The  deed  scarce  done,  he  stood  aghast 
At  touching  one  beneath  his  caste. 
'  Behold  ! '  he  cried,  '  I  am  unclean. 
My  hands  have  clasped  the  vile  and  mean.' 
God  saw  the  shadow  on  his  face 
And  wrought  a  miracle  of  grace. 
The  buried  seed  arose  from  death 
And  bloomed  and  fruited  at  his  breath. 
The  stock  bore  up  a  leaf  of  green 
On  which  these  mystic  words  were  seen. 
'First  count  all  men  of  equal  caste, 
THEN    COUNT   THYSELF   THE    LEAST    AND 

LAST.' 
The  Brahmin,  with  bewildered  brain, 
Beheld  the  will  of  God  writ  plain. 
Transfigured,  then,  in  sudden  light. 
The  slave  stood  sacred  in  his  sight. 
Thereafter  in  the  Brahmin's  breast 
Abode  God's  peace,  and  he  was  blest." 


PREFIX  TO  CHAPTER  VII. 

''And  Cornelius  said,  Four  days  ago,  tmtil  this  hour,  I  was 
keeping  the  ninth  hour  of  prayer  in  my  house;  and  behold,  a  man 
stood  before  me  in  bright  apparel,  and  saith,  Co?-nclius,  thy  prayer 
is  heard,  and  thine  alms  a7-e  had  in  remembrance  in  the  sight  of 
God.  Send,  therefore,  to  Joppa  and  call  unto  thee  Simon,  who  is 
surnatned  Peter;  he  lodgeth  in  the  house  of  Simon  a  ta7tner,  by  the 
seaside.'" — Acts  x:  30-32. 

"We  err  in  the  comparative  estimate  we  form  of  great  and 
small.  Imagine  a  political  economist  computing  the  value  of 
such  a  life  as  this  of  Dorcas.  He  views  men  in  masses;  consid- 
ers the  economic  well-being  of  society  on  a  large  scale;  calculates 
what  is  productive  of  the  greatest  good  for  the  greatest  number. 
To  him  the  few  coats  and  garments  made  for  a  few  poor  people 
would  be  an  item  in  the  world's  well-being,  scarcely  worthy  of 
being  taken  into  the  reckoning.  Let  the  historian  estimate  her 
worth.  The  chart  of  time  lies  unrolled  before  him.  The  fall  of 
dynasties  and  the  blending  together  of  races,  the  wars  and  revo- 
lutions of  nations  that  have  successively  passed  across  the 
world's  stage— these  are  the  things  that  occupy  him.  What  are 
acts  like  hers  in  the  midst  of  interests  such  as  these,  and  of  con- 
templations so  large  ?  All  this  is  beneath  the  dignity  of  history. 
Or  again,  let  us  summon  a  man  of  larger  contemplations  still. 
To  the  astronomer,  lifting  his  clear  eye  to  the  order  of  the  stars, 
this  planet  itself  is  but  a  speck.  To  come  down  from  the  uni- 
verse to  the  thought  of  a  tiny  earth  is  a  fell  descent,  but  to  de- 
scend to  the  thought  of  an  humble  female  working  at  a  few  gar- 
ments, were  a  fall  indeed.  Now  rise  to  the  Mind  of  which  all 
other  minds  are  but  emanations — and  this  conception  of  grand 
and  insignifica:nt  is  not  found  in  His  nature.  Human  intellect, 
as  it  arises  to  the  great,  neglects  the  small.  The  Eternal  mind 
condescends  to  the  small;  or  rather,  with  it  there  is  neither 
great  nor  small.  It  has  divided  the  rings  of  the  earthworm  with 
as  much  microscopic  care  as  the  orbits  in  which  the  planets 
move.  It  has  painted  the  minutest  feather  on  the  wing  of  the 
butterfly  as  carefully  as  it  has  hung  the  firmament  with  the  sil- 
ver splendor  of  the  stars.  Great  and  small  are  words  which 
have  only  reference  to  us." 

— Fred.  W.  Robertson. 


John  Sullivan  Dwight. 

A  udaiiU  con  : 


True  Rest. 


5-  i^'S-i^i^*^ 


-fA r/4 


1.  Rest 

2.  Deep  -  er 


not  quitting    The  bu  -  sy     ca-reer,  Rest   is 

de-vo-tion  Nowhere  hath  knelt,        Full-er 


the 
e   - 


:?±=^ 


■^r—r 


f— f- 


m 


-dM 


r-r 


f^M 


i^^^ 


^fi^m^i^ 


3= 


fit-  ting      Of      self         to  its  sphere.  'Tis      the     brook's  mo-tion, 
mo-tion  Heart     nev-er    felt.     'Tis      lov-ing   and  serv-ing,  The 


Clear  without  strife, 
high-est  and  best, 


i^a=i 


Flee-ing     to     o  -  cean     M  ter  its    hfe. 
Onward,  unswerving,  And  that's  true  rest. 


5^ 


?= 


fe^^M= 


Samuel  Davis. 


Consecration, 


^3 


i 


=T3=I 


^i^i^^^3E^^3%^^iEe.--_EEpE£ 


-jV-N-f-^- 


1.  I>ord,     I  amThine,en-tire  -  lyThine,  Purchased  and  saved  by  blood  Divine; 

2.  Thine  wonld  I  live.  Thine  would  I  die,  BeThine thro' all       e  -  ter  -  ni  -  ty; 

3.  Here,  at  that  cross  where  flows  the  blood  Tliat  bought  my  guil  -  ty    soul  for  God. 


ift—P—'^^w:^ 


soul  tor  (jod. 


'^-^^ 


W 


With  full  con-sent  Thine  I  would  be.  And  own  Thy  sov'reign  right  in  me. 
'I'he  vow  is  past  be-yond  repeal,  And  now  I  set  the  solemn  seal. 
Thee,  my  new  Mas- ter,   now    I  call,  And  con-se  -  crate     to  Thee  my  all. 


=N^ 


"-r-v- 


£p=^nt^^f^f 


I    I;  1/  i^ 


CHAPTER  VII. 


LOYALTY  AND  DEVOTION;  OR,   A  CONSECRATED  LIFE. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  angel  who  stood  before 
CorneHus  in  bright  apparel  may  have  been  the  Lord 
Jesus  Himself.  Peter,  in  his  account  of  the  matter, 
says,  "  he  told  us  how  he  had  seen  the  angel  standing 
in  his  house."  (Rev.  Ver.)  If  the  Lord  Jesus  appeared 
to  Paul  more  than  once  in  a  vision  why  may  He  not 
have  appeared  to  Cornelius } 

On  closer  examination  of  the  Scripture,  however,  it 
appears  that  Paul  was  in  a  trance  at  Jerusalem  when 
he  "  saw  Him  saying  unto  him,  make  haste  and  get 
thee  quickly  out  of  Jerusalem."  (Acts  xxii:  i8.)  It  was 
only  "  an  angel  of  the  God  whose  I  am,  whom  also  I 
serve,"  who  stood  by  him  on  the  ship.  (Acts  xxvii: 
23.)  The  only  appearances  of  the  Lord  of  glory 
made  "  openly,"  as  was  this  appearance  to  Cornelius, 
since  the  ascension,  were  to  Paul  on  the  Damascus 
road,  to  Stephen  when  dying  and  to  John  on  the  isle 
of  Patmos.  In  all  these  instances  our  Lord  was  seen 
upon  His  throne  in  the  heavens. 

But  He  has  another  throne  in  the  human  heart. 
"  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh."  This  is  the  testi- 
mony of  every  spirit  that  is  of  God.  And  the  spirits 
who  give  this  testimony  are  not  all  disembodied  spirits 


122  THE    ANGEL   AND   THE    VISION 

or  spirits  of  another  world.  Men,  as  well  as  angels, 
can  testify  that  "  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  is  come  and  that  in  the  persons  of  conse- 
crated disciples,  the  Lord  Jesus  has  become,  as  it 
were,  reincarnate.  Peter  at  this  time  was  one  of 
those  with  whom  Jesus  Christ  lodged,  not  "  many 
days"  but  "  always."  And  now  Peter  is  sent  that  the 
same  Holy  Spirit  which  had  made  his  body  His  temple 
may,  like  fire  taken  from  this  altar,  kindle  an  answer- 
ing flame  in  the  sanctuary  of  Cornelius'  heart  and 
home. 

Bishop  Newman  says;  "  The  need  of  our  age  is  a 
revised  version  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  of  which  the 
colporteur  himself  is  a  sample,  bound  not  in  calf  or 
leather,  but  in  flesh  and  blood,  translated  into  the  ver- 
nacular of  every  day  life,  known  and  read  of  all  men." 
This  would,  in  a  sense,  be  "  the  Word  made  flesh" 
again  to-day.  And  we  need  just  such  a  new  edition 
of  "the  Life  of  Christ,"  written  not  by  Beecher  or 
Farrar  or  Geikie  or  Edersheim,  but  by  the  Spirit  of 
the  living  God.  We  need  millions  of  such  volumes 
circulated  throughout  the  world. 

In  such  works,  however,  there  can  be  no  slavish 
copying  of  the  Savior  as  a  pattern.  There  must  be 
"  copy  "  for  the  type-setter  before  there  can  be  books, 
but  books  are  not  made  on  the  copy-book  plan.  For, 
back  of  the  type-setting  and  the  printing,  is  the  writ- 
ing of  the  author.  This,  if  a  true  work  of  art,  is  an 
inspiration.  So  the  consecrated  life  is  an  in- 
spiration. Such  a  life  is  a  law  of  righteousness,  a 
prophecy    of   hope,   a    psalm   of  praise,    a  gospel  of 


LOYALTY    AND    DEVOTION  1 23 

peace,  an  epistle  of  love,  an  act  of  a  true  apostle,  a 
revelation  of  heaven.  And  such  is  manifestly  the 
work  which  God,  by  His  Spirit,  would  accomplish  in 
human  hearts. 

I.  — But  is  it  possible  to  accomplish  such  a  work  under 
the  ordinary  conditions  of  human  life  ?  With  one-third 
of  our  time  spent  in  sleep,  and  another  sixth  part  in 
eating  and  drinking,  the  time  afforded  for  mental, 
moral  and  manual  activity  is  reduced  by  one-half. 
Besides 

"Art  is  long  and  time  is  fleeting. 

And  our  hearts,  though  stout  and  brave. 
Still,  like  muffled  drums,  are  beating 
Funeral  marches  to  the  grave." 

Further,  if  we  all  had  two  Sabbaths,  or  rest  days, 
as  the  teachers  throughout  the  land  and  their  pupils 
do,  less  than  one-third  of  our  days,  unless  we  include 
a  long  vacation  in  the  summer,  could  be  given  to 
purely  spiritual  rest  or  labor.  The  eight-hour  day  for 
the  workingman  would  give  him  one-third  of  the 
twenty-four  hours  for  the  discharge  of  domestic,  social 
and  public  duties,  out  of  which,  if  he  did  his  whole 
duty  as  a  householder,  a  neighbor  and  a  citizen,  he 
would  not  have  much  left  for  "  duties  to  self  and 
duties  to  God."  But,  according  to  moral  philosophy, 
these  constitute  two-thirds  of  the  whole  duty  of  man. 
Then  we  must  deduct  from  this  remainder  the  time 
consumed  by  interruptions,  the  entertainment  of  visit- 
ors, journeyings  and  movings  from  place  to  place,  social 
introductions,  common  conversation,  etc.  How  little 
a  balance  is  left  for  the  main  work  of  life  ?     Unless 


124  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

there  can  be  a  conjunction  of  holy  and  common  things 
in  the  ordinary  walk  and  intercourse  of  life,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  such  a  great  work  can  not  have  our  time, 
nor  any  considerable  portion  thereof. 

But  that  such  a  connection  is  possible  all  the  coin- 
cidences of  this  chapter  show.  "  As  he  talked  with 
him,  he  went  in."  As  Peter  thought  on  the  vision 
he  answered  the  call  at  the  door.  "  And  he  took 
them  the  same  hour  of  the  night  and  washed  their 
stripes  and  was  baptized,  he  and  all  his,  straightway. 
And  he  brought  them  into  his  house,  and  set  meat  before 
them  and  rejoiced,  believing  in  God  with  all  his  house. " 
Acts  xvi:  33,  34.  What  a  mingling  of  the  clean 
and  the  unclean,  the  sacred  and  the  secular,  is  here 
recorded  in  the  story  of  the  Philipian  jailer's  conver- 
sion.     Is  not  a  similar  mixture  possible  in  every  life  ? 

It  must  be  evident  also  that  the  performance  com- 
plete of  any  particular  self-appointed  or  even  God-given 
task  is  not  the  chief  end  of  life.  It  is  not  only  liable 
at  any  moment  to  be  cut  short  by  death,  but  the  Spirit 
of  God  Himself  may  cut  it  short,  if  not  by  counter- 
manding a  previous  order,  yet  by  calling  a  halt  to 
further  movements  in  that  direction.  He  who  is  per- 
fectly obedient  to  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  must  expect 
to  be  thus  arrested  in  full  career,  as  Peter's  reflections 
were  upon  the  housetop,  and  as  his  sermon  at  Caesarea 
was  by  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Yet  the  con- 
secrated man  under  such  circumstances  may  always 
know  that  his  work  for  that  occasion  and  on  that  line 
is  substantially  done. 

Again,  from  these  considerations  it  must  be  appar- 


LOYALTY  AND  DEVOTION  12$ 

ent  that  being  and  not  doing  is,  after  all,  the  great  ob- 
ject of  human  existence.  Not  any  form  of  exercise, 
moral,  mental  or  manual,  is  the  chief  end  of  life.  Rela- 
tively some  of  these  forms  of  activity  may  be  nobler 
than  others,  but  essentially  they  derive  their  nobleness 
entirely  from  their  contributions  to  the  one  noble  end — 
the  attainment  of  the  Divine  likeness.  Not  to  effect  an 
act,  but  achieve  a  character,  this  is  the  true  work  of  life. 
Not  prayer  even,  much  less  thought  or  action,  is  the 
"  one  thing  needful."  Mary  did  not  choose  this  one 
thing  when  "  she  sat  at  Jesus'  feet  and  listened  to  His 
Word."  She  chose  a  "good  part" — a  better  part 
than  Martha's  service — as  head  service  is  higher  than 
hand  service.  David  did  not  obtain  this  one  thing 
when  he  said  "  one  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord 
that  will  I  seek  after,  that  I  may  dwell  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life,  to  behold  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord  and  to  inquire  in  His  temple, "  unless 
this  worship  of  his  wrought  true  worth  of  soul. 
Neither  did  Moses  when  he  prayed  that  God  would 
establish  the  work  of  his  hands  unless  through  this 
that  other  prayer  was  answered:  "  Let  Thy  work 
appear  unto  Thy  servant  and  Thy  glory  unto  their 
children."  The  true  work  of  God  and  man  working 
together  is  the  attainment  of  holy  character,  "  To  be 
or  not  to  be,"  that  is  the  question,  not  only  of  im- 
mortality but  of  that  eternal  life  which  means 
quality  rather  than  quantity  of  existence.  The  young 
man  that  was  told  to  sell  all  that  he  had  and  give  to 
the  poor  did  not  in  that  command  receive  the  true 
Christian    commission.      His  benevolence  was  to  be 


126  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE   VISION 

preparatory  work.  He  was  thus  to  become  "  free  to 
serve."  "  Come,  take  up  thy  cross  daily  and  follow 
me."  This  is  the  true  Christian  call.  "This  one 
thing  I  do,"  said  Paul,  "  I  press  toward  the  mark." 
The  struggle  after  moral  perfection,  this  is  the  true 
Christian  calling,  and  this  occupation  can  be  followed 
day  and  night. 

This  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  Christian  vocation;  in 
other  walks  of  life  this  is  not  possible.  The  sol- 
dier is  not  doing  the  one  thing  of  military  life  when  he 
goes  into  winter  quarters  or  lays  down  to  sleep  upon 
his  arms.  For  protracted  camp-life  is  not  campaign- 
ing, and  the  sentinel  must  not  sleep.  The  student  is 
not  doing  the  one  thing  of  student-life  when  he  takes 
his  vacation  or  plays  foot-ball.  The  servant  is  not 
doing  the  one  thing  of  household  service  when  she 
lays  aside  the  towel  or  the  broom  and  takes  up  the 
crochet  ball  or  the  novel.  Even  woman's  work  is 
sometimes  done  while  man's  is  "from  sun  to  sun." 
But  Christian  work  is  indeed  never  done. 

"  '  Though  like  the  wanderer, 
The  sun  gone  down, 
Darkness  be  over  me, 
My  rest  a  stone; 
Yet  in  my  dreams  I'd  be 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee." 

Thus  we  may  pray  without  ceasing,  by  making 
every  breath  an  aspiration  after  Christlikeness. 

And  so  "  the  stony  griefs  "  also  may  be  turned  to 
Bethels;  yea,  every  circumstance  of  life,  every  temp- 
tation to  evil  temper  may  become  a  Divinely  given 
chance,    an    opportunity  of     deciding    the    question 


LOYALTY  AND  DEVOTION  12/ 

whether  we  shall  be  tossed  by  the  restlessness  of  the 
world,  the  victim  of  every  adverse  wind  that  blows, 
or  whether  we  shall  have  the  peace  and  calm  of 
Christ,'  a  peace  that  rules  and  thus  keeps  the  heart 
and  mind,  because  it  is  "  in  Christ  Jesus."  Thus  may 
we  be  like  the  men  sent  from  Cornelius,  alway  jour- 
neying day  and  night  toward  the  place  where  the 
Lord  hath  said,  "  I  will  put  my  name  there."  That 
place  is  the  Mount  Zion  of  a  "  kingdom  that  can  not 
be  moved,"  And  our  best  form  of  Christian  service  is 
to  receive  that  kingdom  moment  by  moment.  This 
may  be  done  by  the  heart's  constant  faith,  while  the 
head  and  the  hands  may  both  be  employed  about 
their  necessary  work. 

Again,  as  "  the  altar  sanctifies  the  gift,"  so  the  end 
of  an  act,  while  it  does  not  justify  a  wrong  means,  yet 
sanctifies  a  common  or  material  one.  Neither  matter 
nor  those  material  uses  of  life  which  constitute  the 
platform  for  the  exposition  of  spiritual  as  well  as  tem- 
poral products  are  unholy  in  themselves.  The  ma- 
terial as  compared  to  the  purely  spiritual  is  indeed 
"as  moonlight  unto  sunlight,  as  water  unto  wine." 
But  Jesus  made  water  into  wine  and  thus  "  showed 
forth  His  glory";  not  His  power,  but  His  glory.  The 
miracle  was  not  so  much  in  the  transformation  of  the 
elements  but  in  the  transfiguration  of  an  act  of  simple 
ministry  into  a  sublime  expression  of  the  love  of  God 
for  man  and  of  man  for  man.  So  we  are  taught  to 
call  no  labor  common  or  unclean  until  we  know  the 
end  for  which  it  is  wrought. 

If  this  end  be  love,  we  have  then  the  true  meas- 


128         THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  VISION 

uring-rod  of  all  greatness.  Celestial  magnitudes  can 
be  calculated,  even  though  the  figures  which  express 
them  transcend  the  power  of  imagination  to  conceive. 
The  cycles  of  all  history,  geologic  and  anthropologic, 
can  be  computed,  though  the  fading  tablets  of  mem- 
ory refuse  to  retain  the  inscriptions  of  the  events  that 
fill  up  these  vast  spaces  of  time.  Space  and  time  and 
matter  are  each  alike  measureable,  indefinite  but  not 
infinite.  There  is  but  one  true,  infinite  love,  human 
and  Divine,  "  the  love  that  passeth  knowledge."  And 
this  is  the  true  eternal  life. 

"We  live  in  deeds,  not  years, 
In  thoughts,  not  bi"eaths. 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial; 
We  should  count  time  by  heart-throbs; 
He  lives  most,  who  feels  the  most,   thinks  the  noblest, 
acts  the  best." 

II. — As  all  time,  so  all  labor  may  be  thus  given  to 
God.  Let  us  reflect  still  further  upon  this  truth.  It  is 
written  in  the  scriptures,  "  Whatsoever  ye  do,  whether 
ye  eat  or  drink,  do  all  for  the  glory  of  God,"  and  yet 
the  practical  fulfillment  of  that  principle  in  individual 
lives  ordinarily  waits  upon  some  new  revelation  in 
personal  experience  when  the  Spirit  of  God  has  to  say 
to  us  as  he  did  to  Peter:  "  What  God  has  cleansed 
call  not  thou  common."  The  distinction  between  the 
clean  and  the  unclean,  the  sacred  and  the  secular,  has 
not  yet  been  abolished  in  Christendom.  We  have  yet, 
most  of  us,  to  learn  with  Paul,  and  "  be  persuaded  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  that  nothing  is  unclean  of  itself — save 
that  to  him  who  accounteth  anything  to  be  unclean,  to 
him  it  is  unclean."     If  you  account  your  calling  to  be 


LOYALTY  AND  DEVOTION  129 

common  and  not  holy,  to  you  it  will  be  so,  but  if  you 
give  your  business  to  God,  and  do  everything  "  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  to  you  it  will  be  holy. 

"  We  have  inherited  from  our  Latin  fathers,"  says 
Dr.  Josiah  Strong,  "  a  vicious  dualism  which  runs 
through  life  a  line  of  cleavage  separating  it  into  the 
sacred  and  secular.  In  mediaeval  times  the  common 
was  profane.  That  alone  was  sacred  which  was  es- 
pecially set  apart  to  religious  uses.  The  church  was 
sacred,  the  state  was  secular.  The  occupation  of  the 
clergy  was  holy,  and  they  were  under  obligations  to  lead 
holy  lives;  the  occupation  of  the  laity,  the  common  ac- 
tivities of  the  world  were  profane,  and  the  people  were 
expected  to  lead  lives  more  or  less  worldly.  They 
were,  to  be  sure,  under  obligation  to  give  a  part  of 
their  time  and  substance  to  religion,  but  the  remainder 
was  their  own,  to  be  applied  to  secular  uses. 

"  Luther  saw  clearly  that  all  these  distinctions  were 
false,  and,  according  to  Bunsen,  all  of  the  reformers 
of  the  sixteenth  century  agreed  with  Luther  that 
there  was  no  difference  between  secular  and  religious 
acts.  But  the  reformation  failed  to  free  the  church 
entirely  from  these  misconceptions,  and  we  still  talk 
of  sacred  and  profane  history,  of  religious  and  secular 
duties,  of  sacred  and  secular  callings.  The  church  is 
content  to  accept  as  her  province  only  a  small  part  of 
the  life  of  man.  She  claims  the  "  sacred  "  as  her 
sphere.  The  "  secular"  life  must  of  course  be  lived 
under  the  restrictions  of  the  moral  law,  but  such  a  life 
is  not  supposed  to  be  religious  and  is  held  to  be  quite 
foreign  to  the  sphere  of  the  church." 


I30  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

We  err  in  our  judgment  of  what  is  common  and 
what  is  holy  in  occupation  as  we  do  as  to  what  is  great 
and  small  in  conduct.  Actions  become  great  or  small 
not  according  to  the  earthly  greatness  of  the  doer  but 
according  to  the  spirit  in  which  they  are  done.  If 
Simon  the  apostle  had  preached  the  Gospel  from  a 
sordid  motive,  his  preaching  had  been  poor  indeed. 
Simon,  the  tanner,  tanning  hides  unselfishly,  that  he 
might  have  wherewithal  to  set  meat  before  his  apos- 
tolic guest  was  distinguishing  himself  in  God's  sight. 
Had  Cornelius  given  his  alms  to  be  seen  of  men  his 
ostentation  would  have  belittled  his  gifts.  Had  any  of 
the  people  who  were  the  objects  of  his  charity  re- 
ceived their  benefits  with  becoming  gratitude,  their 
thankful  recognition  would  have  lifted  them,  if  truly 
needy,  above  the  rank  of  unworthy  paupers.  Giving 
is  indeed  a  royal  act  if  done  in  a  kingly  spirit.  But 
patronage  may  spoil  the  greatest  favors  as  much  as 
pride  will  ruin  the  smallest  fortune.  Receiving  may 
also  be  done  royally.  Jacob,  accepting  the  hospitality 
and  help  of  Pharaoh  in  Egypt  is  as  princely  in  his 
demeanor  as  is  the  monarch  on  his  throne.  Indeed,  if 
it  were  not  so,  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  which 
is  wholly  a  Divine  gift,  would,  in  the  delivery  thereof, 
detract  from,  rather  than  add  to,  whatever  native  no- 
bility may  remain  in  the  heart  of  man.  But  because 
receiving  may  be  also  a  great  act,  faith  adds  to  our 
virtue,  as  it  did  in  Cornelius'  case.  "  To  as  many  as 
received  Him  to  them  gave  He  the  right  to  become  the 
sons  of  God." 

"  I  came  across  the  other  day,"  said  Rev.  B.  Fay 


LOYALTY  AND  DEVOTION  I3I 

Mills  at  Montreal,  "  a  little  book  out  of  which  I  read 
a  few  sentences.  I  read  the  title  page  and  it  was  this. 
*  Hiram  Goff,  a  shoemaker  by  the  grace  of  God.* 
Then  I  read  the  last  page,  and  it  was  stated  that 
when  this  man  died  they  put  on  his  tombstone  that 
which  he  had  requested:  '  Hiram  Goff — A  Shoemaker 
by  the  Grace  of  God. '  I  looked  to  see  what  was  in 
the  middle  of  the  book  and  read  this,  that  a  young 
stripling  of  a  minister,  who  had  just  come  to  be 
pastor  in  the  town,  went  down  to  talk  with  Hiram,  for 
he  had  heard  that  he  was  a  spiritual  man,  and  he  said, 
'Mr.  Goff,'  and  Mr.  Goff  said,  'don't  call  me  Mr. 
Goff,  call  me  Hiram.'  '  Well,  Hiram,  I  have  come  to 
talk  with  you  about  the  things  of  God,  and  I  am  very 
glad  that  a  man  can  be  in  a  humble  occupation,  and 
yet  be  a  godly  man.'  The  shoemaker  stopped  and 
looking  up  to  him,  said,  '  don't  call  this  a  humble 
occupation.'  The  minister  thought  he  had  made  a 
mistake,  and  said,  '  Excuse  me,  I  did  not  mean  to 
reflect  on  what  you  do  for  a  living.'  The  man  replied, 
'  You  did  not  hurt  me,  but  I  was  afraid  you  might 
hurt  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  '  I  believe  the  making 
of  that  shoe  is  just  as  holy  a  thing  as  the  making  of 
your  sermon.  I  believe  that  when  I  come  to  stand 
before  the  throne  of  God  he  is  going  to  say,  "  What 
kind  of  shoes  did  you  make  when  on  earth  ?  "  And  he 
might  pick  up  this  very  pair  in  order  to  let  me  look  at . 
them  in  the  blazing  light  of  the  great  white  throne; 
and  He  is  going  to  say  to  you,  "  What  kind  of  sermons 
did  you  make  ?  "  and  you  will  have  to  show  Him  your 
sermons.     Now,  if  I  have  made  better  shoes  than  you 


132  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

have  made  sermons,  I  will  have  a  better  place  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.'  " 

"  A  servant  with  this  clause 
Makes  drudgery  Divine; 
Who  sweeps  a  room;  as  for  thy  laws, 
Makes  that  and  the  action  fine," 

says  the  noble  Herbert. 

Work  for  some  good,  be  it  ever  so  slowly. 
Cherish  some  flower,  be  it  ever  so  lowly, 
Labor — all  labor  is  noble  and  holy; 
Let  thy  great  deed  be  thy  prayer  to  thy  God." 

How  full  the  writings  of  the  best  of  our  modern 
poets  and  prose  writers  are  of  this  truth.  Whittier,  in 
the  dedication  of  his  "  Poems  of  Labor,"  says: 

"The  doom  which  to  the  guilty  pair 
Without  the  walls  of  Eden  came, 
Transforming  sinless  ease  to  care 
And  rugged  toil,  no  more  shall  bear 
The  burden  of  old  crime,  or  mark  of  sinful  shame. 

A  blessing  now,  a  curse  no  more. 

Since  He,  whose  name  we  breathe  with  awe. 

The  coarse  mechanic  vesture  wore, 

A  poor  man  toiling  with  the  poor 

In  labor,  as  in  prayer,  fulfilling  the  same  law," 

"  '  Laborare  est  orare,'  all  true  work  is  sacred," 
preaches  Thomas  Carlyle,  "  in  all  true  work,  were  it 
but  true  hand-labor,  there  is  something  of  Divineness, 
Labor,  wide  as  the  earth,  has  its  summit  in  heaven. 
Sweat  of  brow;  and  up  from  that  to  sweat  of  the 
brain,  sweat  of  the  heart,  which  includes  all  Kepler 
calculations,  Newton  meditations,  all  sciences,  spoken 
epics,  all  acted  heroisms,  martyrdoms — up  to  that 
♦  agony  and  bloody  sweat, '  which  all  men  have  called 


LOYALTY   AND   DEVOTION  I  33 

Divine.  O,  brother,  if  this  is  not  worship,  then  I  say, 
the  more  pity  for  worship;  for  this  is  the  noblest  thing 
yet  discovered  under  God's  sky." 

Ruskin  says;  "  None  of  us,  or  very  few  of  us,  do 
either  hard  or  soft  work  because  we  have  chanced  to 
fall  into  the  way  of  it,  and  can  not  help  ourselves. 
Now,  nobody  does  anything  well  that  they  can  not 
help  doing;  work  is  only  done  well  when  it  is  done 
with  a  will;  and  no  man  has  a  thoroughly  sound  will 
unless  he  knows  he  is  doing  what  he  should,  and  is  in 
his  place. 

"  You  are  told,  indeed,  to  sing  psalms  when  you  are 
merry,  and  to  pray  when  you  need  anything;  and,  by 
the  perversion  of  the  Evil  Spirit,  we  get  to  think  that 
praying  and  psalm-singing  are  '  service. '  If  a  child 
finds  itself  in  want  of  anything,  it  runs  in  and  asks  its 
father  for  it — does  it  call  that  doing  its  father  a  serv- 
ice }  If  it  begs  for  a  toy  or  a  piece  of  cake — does  it 
call  that  serving  its  father  ?  That,  with  God,  is 
prayer,  and  he  likes  to  hear  it;  He  likes  you  to  ask 
Him  for  cake  when  you  want  it;  but  he  doesn't  call 
that  'serving  Him.'  Begging  is  not  serving;  God 
likes  mere  beggars  as  little  as  you  do.  He  likes  honest 
servants,  not  beggars.  So  when  a  child  loves  its 
father  very  much,  and  is  very  happy,  it  may  sing  little 
songs  about  him;  but  it  doesn't  call  that  serving  its 
father;  neither  is  singing  songs  about  God,  serving 
God.  It  is  enjoying  ourselves,  if  it's  anything;  most 
probably  it  is  nothing;  but  if  it's  anything,  it  is  serving 
ourselves,  not  God.  And  yet  we  are  impudent  enough 
to  call  our  beggings  and  chantings    '  Divine  Service  '; 


134  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

we  say  '  Divine  service  will  be  "  performed  "  (that's 
our  word — the  form  of  it  gone  through)  at  1 1  o'clock. ' 
Alas !  unless  we  perform  Divine  service  in  every 
willing  act  of  our  lives  we  never  perform  it  at  all. 

III. — A  consecrated  life  honors  God  with  its  sub- 
stance. There  are  several  respects  in  which  the  alms- 
giving of  Cornelius  is  worthy  of  our  study  and  imita- 
tion. 

ist.  He  was  liberal.  He  gave  '■'■much  alms." 
Why  not  quote  Cornelius  as  an  example  as  well  as  the 
widow  who  cast  in  her  mite  }  She  and  the  rich  man 
who  "  cast  in  much"  represent  the  extremes  of  finan- 
cial ability.  But  here  is  a  man  of  average  wealth — 
not  a  Herod  grown  so  rich  by  oppression  and  extor- 
tion that  Susanna,  the  wife  of  his  steward,  could  well 
afford  to  minister  to  Christ  of  her  substance — not  a 
private  soldier  discontented  with  his  wages — but  as  to 
circumstances,  a  golden  mean  between  the  two.  Yet 
he  gives  mtich.  Noble  example  for  people  of  moder- 
ate means. 

2d.  He  must  have  given  systematically.  A  man 
of  his  military  training  and  regular  habits  of  devotion 
must  have  been  as  constant  and  periodic  in  his  alms- 
giving as  in  his  prayers. 

3d.  He  gave,  not  for  his  own  benefit,  and  yet  be- 
cause it  was  a  means  of  grace  and  blessing. 

Rich  men  were  never  told  by  the  apostles  that 
their  money  was  needed  so  much  for  the  church 
as  for  themselves.  "  Charge  them  that  are  rich 
in  this  present  world  that  they  be  not  high  minded, 
nor    have   their    hope    set    on    the    uncertainty    of 


LOYALTY  AND  DEVOTION  135 

riches,  but  on  God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  things 
to  enjoy;  that  they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich  in 
good  works,  that  they  be  ready  to  distribute,  willing 
to  communicate,  laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a 
good  foundation  against  the  time  to  come,  that  they 
may  lay  hold  on  the  life  which  is  life  indeed.''  Life 
without  enjoyment  is  not  life.  And  the  highest  form 
of  enjoyment  comes  from  giving.  Benevolence,  like 
the  quality  of  mercy,  is  not  strained.  "  It  droppeth 
as  the  gentle  dew  from  heaven  upon  the  place  be- 
neath. It  is  twice  blessed;  it  blesses  him  that  gives 
and  him  that  receives." 

4th.  He  gave  to  "  the  people."  Unhke  that  cen- 
turion who  built  the  Jews  a  synagogue,  this  man  dis- 
tributed his  money  more  widely.  If  he  were  living 
today  his  charity,  though  beginning  at  home,  would 
not  end  there. 

5th.      His  prayers  and  his  alms  went  together. 

Cornelius  was  a  rare  combination.  There  was  in 
him  as  one  has  said,  "  A  happy  blending  of  devotion 
and  well  doing,  of  subjective  piety  and  objective 
goodness."  Sam  Jones  tells  of  a  steamboat  down 
south  which  had  so  small  a  boiler  and  so  large  a 
whistle,  that  when  it  moved  it  couldn't  whistle  and 
when  it  whistled  it  had  to  stop.  There  are  some 
Christians  who  have  such  a  small  spiritual  capacity 
that,  when  they  pray  or  attend  prayers,  they  seem  to 
so  exhaust  their  supply  of  grace  that  they  can  not  give 
alms  or  pay,  and,  when  they  pay,  they  seem  unable  to 
pray.  And  so  we  have  in  our  churches  the  "  paying 
members"  and  the  "  praying  members"   and  this  di- 


136  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

vision  is  not  made  along  the  line  that  separates  pov- 
erty from  riches  or  vice  versa.  There  are  half- 
hearted Christians  of  both  classes  and  they  are  one- 
sided because  half-hearted. 

IV. — A  consecrated  life  glorifies  God  at  home.  Here 
was  a  man  living  in  the  days  of  the  empire,  in  the 
period  of  Rome's  decline  in  morals,  yet  the  soul  of 
honor  and  living  happily,  doubtless,  with  one  of  those 
Roman  matrons,  who  were  the  glory  of  the  early  re- 
pubhc.  Roman  honor  and  virtue  and  domestic  purity 
and  peace  were  not  altogether  things  of  the  past. 
Alas,  for  our  republic,  if  the  domestic  virtues  of  our 
fathers  ever  become  things  of  the  past  with  us. 
Nothing  but  Christian  households  "  sanctified  by  the 
"Word  of  God  and  prayer"  can  avert  this. 

And  these  homes  must  be  temples  in  which  love  and 
law,  parental  affection  and  authority  are  wedded. 
Readers  of  Ben  Hur  remember  the  description  of  the 
festival  of  Apollo  in  the  grove  of  Daphne.  "  The  law 
of  the  place  was  love  but  love  without  law."  "  Good 
reader,"  continues  General  Wallace,  "  why  shall  not 
the  truth  be  told  here .-'  Why  not  learn,  that  in  that 
age  there  were  in  all  the  earth  but  two  peoples 
capable  of  the  exaltations  referred  to,  love  in  its  holier 
sense — those  who  lived  by  the  law  of  Moses,  and  those 
who  lived  by  the  law  of  Brahma.  They  alone  could 
have  cried  you,  Better  a  law  without  love  than  a  love 
without  law."  Yet  here  was  a  Roman,  one,  at  least, 
who  had  enshrined  both  law  and  love  in  the  temple  of 
his  household.  Not  that  the  discipline  of  the  barracks, 
do  we  suppose,  was  introduced  in  all  its  rigor  into  the 


LOYALTY  AND  DEVOTION  137 

home — yet  we  imagine  we  see  Cornelius  as  the  cen- 
turion of  his  own  household.  We  hear  him  saying  to 
one  child  "  go  and  he  goeth  and  to  another  come  and 
he  Cometh  and  to  his  servant,  do  this  and  he  doeth 
it."  Like  that  ancient  chieftain,  Abraham,  this 
Roman  captain  "  commanded  his  children  and  his 
household  after  him  to  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord  to 
do  justice  and  judgment."  Hence  the  Lord  would 
not  hide  from  him  his  gracious  purpose. 

It  is  significant  that  to  faithful  householders  the 
Gospel  was  first  revealed  and  introduced  into  the  con- 
tinents to  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa.  It  was  to  Lydia 
and  the  Philipian  jailer  and  their  households  that 
Christ  was  first  preached  in  Macedonia.  "  The 
promise  is  to  you  and  to  your  children  "  was  the  first 
word  of  exhortation  spoken  by  Peter  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  The  Gospel,  beginning  at  Jerusalem,  began 
in  the  Jewish  homes.  It  was  to  a  member  of  the 
queen's  household,  himself  a  man  without  family,  but 
a  faithful  privy  councilor  in  His  mistress'  home,  that 
the  Gospel  was  first  sent  on  its  way  to  the  Dark  Con- 
tinent. 

But  perhaps  some  reader  of  these  pages  may  say 
within  himself,  "  Nothing  has  yet  been  said  about  con- 
secration to  missionary  work  or  the  salvation  of 
souls."  For  two  reasons  we  have  omitted  that 
reference  thus  far: 

First,  because  consecration  to  the  world's  salvation 
can  not  be  included  in  any  list  of  consecrated  things;  and 
second,  because  it  is  the  great  end  and  object  of  all  other 
activities,  all  other  work  and  service.    Time,  labor,  sub- 


138  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

stance,  family — all  these  are  to  be  so  consecrated  as 
to  be  made  subservient  to  this  one  great  business,  the 
salvation  of  the  world.  Because  we  believe  this  pro- 
foundly, we  have  insisted  on  the  truth  so  amply  illus- 
trated in  this  chapter  and  in  the  order  of  apostolic 
activity,  that  salvation  as  well  as  judgment  must  "  be- 
gin at  the  house  of  God."  Let  God's  people  forsake 
all  their  idols  and  place  their  all  on  the  altar  of  the 
churclf  and  the  home,  meaning  by  the  former  that 
temple  which  includes  all  saints,  all  space,  all  time 
and  all  the  world,  and  by  the  latter  that  which  is  the 
sacred  porch  of  such  a  temple,  and  the  walls  of  that 
city  of  God,  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  will  go  up  swiftly, 
solidly  and  with  solemn  yet  glad  shoutings  of  "  Grace, 
ffrace  unto  it!" 


PREFIX  TO  CHAPTER  VIII. 

"  While  Peter  yet  spake  these  words,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all 
them  which  heard  the  word.  And  they  of  the  circumcision  which 
belieifed  were  amazed,  as  many  as  came  with  Peter,  because  that 
on  the  Gentiles  also  was  poured  out  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
For  they  heard  them  speak  with  tongues,  and  magnify  God. 
Then  answered  Peter,  Can  any  man  forbid  the  water,  that  these 
should  not  be  baptized,  which  have  7-eceived  the  Holy  Ghost  as 
well  as  wef'     Acts  x:  44-48. 

"Where  does  this  hiteresting  history  imply  that  thg  moralist 
does  not  need  Christianity,  and  that  the  gospel  is  a  superfluity? 
Do  we  find  any  real  similarity  between  Cornelius  and  the  mor- 
alist, or  the  naturalist  of  Christian  lands? 

He  was  no  mere  moralist;  he  placed  no  dependence  on  good 
works.  He  was  a  devout  worshiper  of  God,  eminently  religious, 
regarding  with  high  consciousness  not  only  all  his  obligations  to 
his  fellowmen,  but  the  higli  obligations  which  bound  him  to  his 
Maker.  He  was,  moreover,  listening  to  catch  the  voice  of  God, 
ready  to  take  any  advanced  step  to  which  the  Divine  light  might 
lead  him.  He  received  the  Gospel,  was  baptized,  and  united 
with  the  church  under  the  influence  of  the  first  gospel  sermon 
that  he  ever  heard. 

Where  is  the  man  standing  aloof  from  Christanity  and  the 
church,  however  excellent  and  noble  his  character,  who  can  take 
his  place  beside  Cornelius?  He  gave  his  whole  being  to  Christ 
and  his  name  and  fortune  to  the  infant  church,  when  its  doc- 
trines were  denied  by  the  multitude,  and  its  simple  band  of 
adherents  were  feeble  and  despised,  though  in  this  act  his  position 
and  fortune  were  imperiled.  You,  my  friend,  withhold  from 
Christ  heart  and  name  and  service,  though  his  truth  has  been 
substantiated  by  the  cumulative  evidence  of  the  Christian  cen- 
turies, and  his  church  has  been  crowned  with  the  glorious  vic- 
tories of  over  eighteen  hundred  years  of  unparalleled  history. 
Cornelius  saw  and  rejoiced  in  the  light  of  this  Sun  of  hope 
when  first  He  rose  above  the  horizon.  You  see  Him  ascending 
in  full-robed  splendor  to  the  very  zenith— flashing  his  glories 
over  all  the  earth — and,  with  his  burning  beams  dazzling  your 
very  eyes,  wonder  if  it  is  not  the  twinkling  of  some  faint  star." — 
From  Guides  and  Guards  to  Character- Building,  by  Dr.  C.  H. 
Payne. 


The  New  Creation, 


Chas.  Wesley. 


:i 


rm^B: 


1.  0        what     shall       I      do  my      Sav  -  lour      to  praise,  So 

2.  How   hap   -    py      the  man     whose  heart      is  set  free,  The 

3.  For    Thou      art    their  boast,     their     glo    -    ry  and  pow'r,  And 

'^-•—^—fizt: !•-!—!• ^ 


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still 
day 

^•1t — • — 

— ^ — 

■  est 

they 

of 

ft 

— &- 

be- 

are 

sal 

-5- 

■  r- 

liev    - 
talk  - 
-  va    - 

J- 

IZSZI 

er 

ing 
tion 

=1!= 

— « — 1 

that 
of 
that 

bangs       up    -    on  Him  1 
Je    -    sus    -    's  grace, 
lifts       up        my  head. 

— -J 
^    1 

^-=t= 

— t — - 

z^— 

U    h  5-ti 

-^^ 

i    y 

4  For  Jesus,  my  Lord,  is  now  my  defense ; 

I  trust  in  His  Word,  none  plucks  me  from  thence 
Since  T  have  found  favor.  He  all  things  will  do, 
My  King  and  my  Saviour  shall  make  me  anew. 

5  Yes,  Lord,  I  shall  see  the  bliss  of  Thine  own, 
Thy  secret  to  me  shall  soon  be  made  known; 
For  sorrow  and  sadness  I  joy  shall  rpopive. 
And  share  in  the  gladness  of  all  that  believe. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE    WHITE    uniform;  OR,   A    CLEAN    HEART. 

"  Know  ye  not,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  that  as  many  as 
have  been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ.?" 
Baptism,  according  to  St.  Paul,  signifies  the  putting  on 
of  the  white  uniform  of  a  clean  heart. 

And  why  should  not  every  man  be  thus  baptized,  be 
thus  appareled  ?  Such  purity  is  a  most  charming 
dress  for  the  soul.  It  is  not  unattractive  even  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world.  No  one  but  admires  it — even  the 
prodigal,  when  he  comes  to  himself,  hates  the  garment 
"spotted  by  the  flesh."  Those  who  know  most  of 
human  nature  can  but  applaud  in  their  hearts  those 
who  keep  their  garments  "  unspotted  from  the  world." 

Nor  is  unbelief  in  the  possibility  of  a  clean  heart 
due  so  much  to  the  rarity  of  heart  purity  under  the 
Sun,  as  to  the  Pagan  nations  that  have  prevailed,  even 
in  the  church,  concerning  the  attainability  of  such  a 
state  of  grace.  We  have  thought  of  holiness  much  as 
we  think  of  the  angels,  to  whom  alone  we  have 
ascribed  this  attribute.  We  think  of  these  latter  as  be- 
longing to  an  entirely  different  order  of  moral  intelli- 
gences from  the  race  of  mankind.  So  we  think  of 
holiness  as  an  exotic — a  fruit  of  Paradise.  We  think 
that  earth  is  the  Devil's  kingdom,     God's  kingdom  is 


142         THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  VISION 

in  heaven.  Hence,  like  Nazareth,  no  good  thing  can 
come  out  of  earth.      To  come  into  it  is  to  be  defiled. 

And  this  belief  arises  in  part  because  the  body  is 
imagined  to  be  the  seat  of  sin.  Moral  evil  is  supposed 
to  have  its  lodgment  in  the  walls  of  the  soul's  dwelling. 
It  can  never  be  entirely  removed  even  by  the  most 
powerful  disinfectant  while  we  are  "  in  this  tabernacle." 
The  building  must  be  taken  down  and  destroyed  before 
sin  can  be  eradicated.  This  error  is  a  relic  of  the  an- 
cient heathen  teaching  that  the  residence  of  sin  was  in 
matter,  an  error  quite  as  common  and  as  unreason- 
able as  the  notion  of  the  Jews  in  Christ's  time  that 
"  what  entereth  into  the  man,  defileth  the  man."  But 
Jesus  contradicted  this  doctrine  when  he  said  "  out  of 
the  heart  come  forth  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adul- 
teries, fornications,  thefts,  false  witness,  railings;  these 
are  the  things  which  defile  the  man;  but  to  eat  with 
unwashed  hands  defileth  not  the  man."  Unclean- 
ness  is  not  on  the  outside  but  on  the  inside,  not  in  the 
walls  but  in  the  inhabitant  of  the  dwelling. 

And  yet,  in  the  face  of  these  plain  teachings — that 
heart  disloyalty  is  the  secret  source  of  sensuality,  that 
inward  separation  from  God  who  is  the  soul's  true  love, 
is  the  foundation  of  all  sin — the  church  ever  since  the 
first  century  has  leaned  to  the  imagination  that  death 
was  a  greater  Savior  than  the  Holy  Spirit. 

To  correct  this  falsehood  we  need  only  look  for  a 
moment  again  at  Peter's  vision.  The  vessel  was  "  let 
down  from  heaven  to  the  earth."  The  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  now  on  earth.  It  is  a  kingdom  that  is  to 
come  to  us,  not  one  to  which  we  are  to  go.     Christ 


THE    WHITE    UNIFORM  1 43 

taught  US  to  pray  "  Thy  kingdom  come;  Thy  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heavoi.'"  "  What  God  hath 
cleansed  call  not  thou  common."  Which  is  the 
greater  sanctifier,  death,  or  the  blood  of  Christ  ?  "  And 
the  vessel  which  was  let  down  by  four  corners  upon 
the  earth  was  received  up  again  into  heaven."  Holi- 
ness on  earth  ^f/'j-/,  heaven  afterward.  This  is  God's 
order.  *'  Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord." 

Since  the  ladder  of  death,  then,    as  a  possible  stair- 
way to  a  higher  life,  is  taken  down,  while  the  elevator 
of  faith,  operated  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 
offered  freely  for  our  use,    it  may  be  well  to  notice 
first  of  all,  that  this  ascent  is  made  by  the  power  of 

The  One  Spirit. 

Rev.  B.  Fay  Mills,  in  his  famous  sermon  on  "  Re- 
ceiving the  Holy  Ghost, "  says:  "  There  are  some  people 
who  would  not  be  satisfied  unless  they  could  actually 
distinguish  in  every  respect  concerning  what  they  call 
the  offices  of  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son  and  God 
the  Holy  Ghost.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Word 
of  God  makes  any  such  distinction.  I  believe  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  Son  and  God  the  Eternal 
Father  are  all  said  to  be  Creators  and  Redeemers  and 
Regenerators  and  Sanctifiers.  I  believe  that  when 
we  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  we  are  receiving  not  one 
little  degree  or  manifestation  of  God,  but  all  that  there 
is  of  God.  While  I  believe  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
been  always  in  the  world,  I  do  believe  that  the  mani- 
festation of  God  the  Spirit  has  been  especially  re- 


144  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

served  for  this  dispensation  and  I  believe  that  we 
have  in  the  fullness  of  the  Holy  Ghost  what  our 
fathers  never  had  and  that  which  makes  the  kingdom 
of  God  possible  by  the  manifestation  of  God  in  His 
fullness  in  the  individual  life." 

But  this  elevator  of  faith  has  two  compartments. 
The  door  is  double.     These  two  sides  correspond  to 

The  Two  Voices 

heard  by  Peter  on  the  housetop.  The  first  voice 
spoke  to  him  while  he  was  in  the  trance.  It  was  a  call 
to  belief.  It  said  once  and  again  in  effect,  "  think." 
It  followed  closely  upon  his  prayer.  The  second  voice 
spoke  to  him  when  he  was  wholly  awake.  It  was  a 
call  to  action.  It  did  not  say:  "  Rise,  Peter,  kill  and 
eat,"  but  "Arise,  Peter,  get  thee  down  and  go  with 
them." 

The  large  majority  of  professing  Christians  leave 
both  their  "first  works"  and  their  "first  love." 
The  machinery  of  Christian  activity,  instead  of  increas- 
ing in  its  freedom  of  movement,  loses  in  a  degree  its 
first  motion.  Whether  this  retard  is  due  to  a  neces- 
sary reaction  or  to  the  presence  of  that  "  sin  which 
dwelleth  in  us,"  it  is  certain  that  the  soul  in  conse- 
quence of  inaction  will  become  clogged  up  with  the 
dust  that  always  accumulates  upon  stationary  wheels. 
Stagnation  always  breeds  corruption.  The  purity  of 
the  bubbling  mountain  spring  must  be  maintained  by 
the  constant  leap  and  dance  of  the  babbling  mountain 
brook.  The  missionary  impulse  of  the  young  convert, 
accompanied  as  it  is  by  the  new  sense  of  heart-purity, 
is  the  motion  of  the  mountain  stream. 


THE    WHITE    UNIFORM  145 

How  strange  that  it  should  ever  grow  sluggish  or 
lose  in  any  measure  its  native  crystalline  sparkle 
and  freshness  ?  Strange,  too,  that  it  should  meet  with 
obstacles  that  it  can  not  dislodge  and  that  still  further 
discolor  its  waters.  But  such  is  the  universal  experi- 
ence, and  when  a  soul  finds  itself  in  this  state,  it  needs 
a  double  work  of  grace.  Nothing  but  the  interposition 
of  a  Divine  Hand  can  remove  the  dust  from  the  ma- 
chinery. Only  he  who  repaired  the  watch  in  the  first 
place  and  put  in  the  new  main-spring  can  now  clean 
it.  Only  the  force  that  started  the  mountain  spring 
by  the  copious  showers  from  heaven  can  so  fill  the 
larger  stream,  as  to  purify  its  stagnant  waters.  Only 
the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  can  at  the  same 
time  inspire  with  new  love  and  wash  away  the  ac- 
cumulated impurities.  But  this  Divine  power  can  do 
more;  it  can  dislodge  the  imbedded  rocks  of  car- 
nality and  cut  a  clear  channel  for  the  soul's  future 
flow  of  love  and  obedience. 

But  this  double  work  will  not  be  accomplished  by 
faith  alone,  as  that  expression  is  usually  understood. 
As  the  faith  that  justifies  is  a  "  faith  that  worketh  by 
love,"  so  is  the  "  faith  that  purifies  the  heart."  The 
soul's  bath  must  be  supplemented  or  rather  attended 
by  such  exercise  as  will  combine  with  the  water  of 
baptism  to  remove  all  impurities.  The  word  "  bap- 
tism," literally  translated,  means  "  washing  " — that  is, 
an  active  exercise.  In  it  the  subject  is  also  an  agent. 
So  in  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  human 
subject  co-operates,  at  every  stage,  with  the  Divine 
forces.  We  are  both  justified  and  sanctified  by  faith, 
but  not  by  faith  without  works. 


146  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

As  there  are  two  compartments  in  this  elevator  of 
faith — so  there  are  at  least  three  stories  to  the  build- 
ing of  a  completed  Christian  experience.  In  the  Jewish 
tabernacle  there  were  three  courts — the  outermost  in 
which  stood  the  brazen  laver  filled  with  the  water  of 
purification,  the  holy  place  into  which  the  priest  en- 
tered with  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice,  and  the  "  holy  of 
holies  "  where  the  shekinah  or  fire  of  God's  symbolized 
presence  burned.  So  the  apostle  exhorts  us  to 
"  enter  into  the  holiest  of  all "  with  our  hearts 
sprinkled  by  the  blood  of  atonement,  from  an  evil 
conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water. 
(Heb.  x:  22.) 

This  leads  us  to  consider  the  several  stages  of  entire 
purification;  or. 

The  Three  Calls. 

"  And  this  was  done  three  times  and  the  vessel  was 
received  up  again  into  heaven."  In  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  the  Apostle  speaks  of  "  the  doctrine  of 
baptisms  and  laying  on  of  hands"  as  among  the  first 
principles  of  the  teaching  of  Christ.  And  Peter,  in 
relating  the  story  of  Cornelius'  experience,  says,  "  And 
as  I  began  to  speak,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  them  even 
as  on  us  at  the  beginning.  And  I  remembered  the 
Word  of  the  Lord,  how  that  He  said,  John  indeed  bap- 
tized with  water,  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost."  According  to  Peter's  testimony  then, 
Cornelius  and  his  household,  before  he  began  to  preach, 
had  passed  the  outer  court  of  repentance  and  stood 
at  the  door  of  the  holy  place  of  saving  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


THE    WHITE    UNIFORM  1 47 

And  of  Cornelius  particularly  it  must  be  said,  unless 
we  are  to  believe  that  one  may  live  in  a  justified  rela- 
tion to  God  without  being  born  of  the  Spirit,  that  he, 
previous  to  St.  Peter's  sermon,  had  entered  into  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven.  How  otherwise  could  he  have 
been  acceptable  to  God  ?  Cornelius  and  his  household 
knew  enough  of  Christian  truth  before  they  heard 
Peter  preach  to  lead  them  into  a  sa\'ing  personal  rela- 
tion with  God.  We  believe  that  he  and  some  of  his 
were  led,  under  the  influence  of  Peter's  visit  and 
preaching  into  the  "  holiest  of  all."  "  And  God,  which 
knoweth  the  heart,  bear  them  witness,  giving  them  the 
Holy  Ghost,  evfu  as  He  did  unto  7is,  and  He  made  no 
distinction  between  us  and  them,  cleansing  their  hearts 
by  faith." 

They  were  baptized  "  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. " 
This  baptism  signifies  more  than  repentance — viz. ,  faith 
in  Christ.  (See  Acts  xix:  4;  also  ii:  38.)  But  if  this, 
then,  was  the  significance  of  Christian  baptism,  what 
was  the  symbolical  import  of  the  "  laying  on  of  hands.-'" 
It  would  seemx  that,  if  Apostolic  custom  be  authority  for 
the  practice,  there  is  as  much  Scriptural  warrant 
for  the  rite  of  confirmation,  or  the  laying  on  of  hands, 
as  for  baptism.  "  When  the  Apostles,  which  were  at 
Jerusalem,  heard  that  Samaria  had  received  the  Word 
of  God  they  sent  unto  them  Peter  and  John,  who, 
when  they  were  come  down,  prayed  for  them  that 
they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  as  yet  he  was 
fallen  upon  none  of  them,  only  they  had  been  baptized 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Then  laid  they  their 
hands  on  them  and  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost." 


148  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

(Acts  viii:  14-17.)  And  this  would  doubtless  have  been 
done  in  the  house  of  Cornelius  had  not  the  Holy  Ghost 
fallen  before  Peter  had  finished  his  discourse.  The 
"  inward  grace  "  came  before  the  "  outward  sign"  had 
been  made.  Perhaps,  however,  the  laying  on  of 
hands  would  have  been  observed  in  this  case  had  it 
not  been  for  the  unbelief  of  the  Jewish  disciples  who 
came  with  Peter  and  who,  in  spite  of  the  Pentecostal 
signs  and  gifts  attendant  upon  this  outpouring  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  would  not  believe  that  God  had 
granted  to  these  Gentiles  any  more  than  "  repentance 
unto  life."  The  gift  of  saving  grace  was  all  that  they 
would  admit,  but  the  "  abundance  of  grace "  was 
reserved  for  the  Hebrew  believers.  "  Can  any  man 
forbid  water,"  said  Peter,  "that  these  should  not 
be  baptized,"  receive  the  lower  sign,  "  who  have 
received  the  Holy  Ghost,"  the  highest  grace  .-* 

There  are,  then,  these  three  stages  in  the  progress 
of  the  soul  from  sin  to  holiness: 

First,  Repentance;  second.  Faith;  third.  Con- 
secration. 

The  great  mass  of  believers,  like  Cornelius,  are 
delivered  from  the  bondage  of  a  slavish  fear  of  death 
or  "  that  which  comes  after  death"  before  they  are 
delivered  from  those  other  forms  of  bondage  called  by 
the  Apostle  in  the  Eighth  Chapter  of  Romans — 
"vanity"  and  "  corruption."  For  "the  whole  crea- 
tion," spoken  of  by  St.  Paul  in  that  chapter,  symbolizes 
just  what  the  sheet  full  of  living  creatures  symbolized 
to  Peter — the  Gentile  world.  Paul  taught  that  this 
"  whole  creation  "  would  be  delivered  not  only  from 


THE    WHITE    UNIFORM  I49 

that  vanity  of  mind  or  emptiness  in  which  they  then 
walked,  but  would  also  be  delivered  from  the  bondage 
of  corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children 
of  God.  This  is  the  glorious  liberty  of  perfect  love. 
It  is  not  deliverance  from  pain  or  travail.  That  is  still 
a  fourth  form  of  bondage,  another  link  in  the  chain 
that  binds  the  world,  like  Prometheus  of  old,  to  the  rocks 
of  this  Mount  Caucasus,  a  sin-cursed  earth.  Only, 
unlike  Prometheus,  w^e  need  not  have  the  vulture  of 
sin  gnawing  at  our  vitals.  Moreover,  when  the  fire  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  falls,  every  cord  that  binds  the  soul 
will  be  burnt — save  one.  "  Ourselves  also,"  which 
have  the  first  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  even  we  ourselves, 
groan  within  ourselves  waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit, 
the  redemption  of  our  body.  (Romans  viii  :  23.)  Let 
every  reader  carefully  consider  this  passage.  There  is 
no  man,  says  St.  Paul,  who  can  not  be  delivered,  as 
we  apostles  have  been,  from  "  fear,"  from  "  vanity," 
from  "  corruption." 

But  he  may  have  to  gradually  reach  his  total  eman- 
cipation. He  may  have  to  walk  awhile  a  servant,  as 
Cornelius  was,  not  a  slave — but  "  differing  nothing 
from  a  servant  though  he  be  the  lord  of  all."  The 
fear  of  death  and  hell  may  have  given  place  to  the 
higher  fear  of  God  and  sin.  "We  Germans,"  says 
Bismarck,  "  fear  no  one  but  God."  "  Fear  nothing," 
said  Wesley  to  his  followers,  "  but  sin."  In  this  sense 
we  must  always  remain  servants  of  God.  Yet  we 
may  have  more  than  the  "  fear  of  God  before  our 
eyes."  We  may  have  the  love  of  God  in  our  hearts. 
This  is  the  estate  of  childhood.     The  heart,  then,  is 


150  THE    ANGEL    AND    THE    VISION 

no  longer  empty;  God's  love  flows  into  it.  There  then 
remains  but  the  perfecting  of  this  love,  the  filhng  up 
of  the  vessel  until  it  hath  cast  out  all  "  fear  which 
hath  torment."  This  is  complete  victory.  As  "the 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom  "  so  this 
perfect  love  which  casteth  out  all  fear  that  hath 
torment  is  its  end  or  consummation. 

We  are  persuaded  that  no  one  leaps  full-grown, 
Minerva-like,  into  the  fullness  of  Christian  experience. 
Geology  and  an  evolutionary  philosophy  has  prepared 
the  church  in  our  day  for  a  more  rational  interpreta- 
tion of  God's  method  in  the  creation  of  the  world 
and  man.  We  believe  it  will  also  prepare  us  to  see 
that  He  follows  the  same  method  in  redemption.  Out 
of  the  chaos  of  moral  confusion,  joined  as  it  is  in  the 
ordinary  "  sinner  of  the  Gentiles "  to  "  every  evil 
work"  there  can  not  be  evoked  a  perfect  moral  order 
in  a  single  day.  The  light  of  conviction  issuing  in  a 
genuine  repentance  is  enough  for  the  evening  and  the 
morning  of  the  first  and  the  second  days.  Let  the 
penitent  separate  himself  from  his  sins — the  "  waters 
which  are  above  the  firmament "  from  "  the  waters 
which  are  below."  "  The  wisdom  that  is  from  above" 
wiij  not  mix  with  the  wisdom  which  is  "  earthly,  sen- 
sual, devilish."  And  let  him  bring  forth  "  fruits  meet 
for  repentance. "  "  Let  the  dry  land  appear. "  Then 
he  is  prepared  for  fa!th  with  its  revelation  of  "  the 
glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ."  This  is  re- 
generation. This  u  the  appearance  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  above  the  soul's  horizon.  But  it  does 
not  appear  till  the  fourth  day.     And  then  should  fol- 


THE    WHITE    UNIFORM  I5I 

low  an  activity  and  usefulness,  not  along  the  earthly 
plane  of  the  Baptist's  instructions  as  to  moral  duties. 
But  "  let  the  waters  bring  forth  abundantly  the  mov- 
ing creature  that  hath  life,  and  io\\\  that  may /y  adove 
the  eartJi  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven.  A  re- 
generate man  should  have  the  wings  of  true  spiritual 
life.  He  should  not  be  a  fish  or  a  slow-going  reptile, 
but  a  true  mammal,  a  warm-blooded  and  quick-mov- 
ing creature,  instinct  with  the  life  of  faith  and  love. 
But  he  does  not  become  a  true  man  in  Christ,  fully 
saved,  and  we  are  only  half  made  until  we  are  fully 
saved,  until  the  new  creation  is  finished  and  he  has 
received  the  answer  ^in  his  soul  to  the  prayer  of 
Wesley  : 

'   Finish,  then.  Thy  new  creation, 

Pure  and  spotless  let  me  be. 
Let  us  see  Thy  great  salvation 

Perfectly  restored  in  Thee." 

This    leads    us    to    speak    in    the    fourth    place    of 
The  Four  Visitors 

whom  the  soul  receives  that  has  entered  into  this 
experience.  They  are  like  the  four  men,  the  apostle 
included,  whom  Simon,  the  tanner,  entertained  in  his 
house.  They  are  the  four  pillars  of  the  soul's  house, 
four  anchors  to  the  soul,  "  entering  into  that  which  is 
within  the  veil." 

Entire  consecration  is  the  inlet  into  this  experience. 
Once  pass  this  bar,  and  we  have  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  harbor  of  perfect  soul  rest.  This  is  not  the  haven 
of  the  skies  but  it  is. so  near  to  that  "  bay  with  its 
beach  "   (Acts  xxvii:   39)  that  when  in  it  we  are  vir- 


152  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

tually  in  heaven.  Heaven  is  a  state  of  soul.  So  is 
the  heaven,  of  "  perfect  peace,"  In  this  latitude, 
heaven,  even  as  a  place,  is  seen  to  be  not  "  the  land 
which  is  very  far  off."     The  soul  here  does  not  sing 

' '  There  is  a  happy  land 
Far,  far  away." 

We  then  surmise,  as  Paul  and  his  fellow-travelers 
did  at  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  night  of  their  perilous 
voyage,  that  "  they  were  drawing  near  to  some  country. " 
Then  "  they  cast  out  four  anchors  from  the  stern  and 
wished  for  the  day."  So  God  casts  out  four  anchors 
to  those  who  thus  draw  near  to  Him  in  full  assurance 
of  faith.  They  are  four  anchors  to  the  soul,  four 
channels  of  that  personal  revelation,  which  every 
sanctified  behever  needs  to  establish  him  in  this  grace. 
They  are  mentioned  in  Heb.  vi:  4-6.  "  The  Holy 
Ghost, "  The  Heavenly  Gift, "  the  "  good  Word  of  God  " 
and  "  the  Powers  of  the  World  to  Come,"  of  every  one 
of  which  we  may  taste  or  know  experimentally.  The 
author  of  that  inspired  song,  "  Blessed  Assurance,"  has 
given  a  verse  each  to  all  but  one  of  these  several  in- 
struments of  Divine  blessing. 

The  Heavenly  Gift, 
Blessed  assurance,  Jesus  is  mine. 

0  what  a  foretaste  of  Glory  Divine! 
Heir  of  salvation,  purchase  of  God, 
Born  of  His  Spirit,  washed  in  His  blood. 

The  Holy  Ghost, 
Perfect  submission,  all  is  at  rest 

1  in  my  Savior  am  happy  and  blest; 
Watching  and  waiting,  looking  above. 
Filled  with  his  goodness,  lost  in  his  love. 


THE    WHITE    UNIFORM  I  53 

The  Powers  of  the  World  to  Come. 
Perfect  submission,  perfect  delight 
Visions  of  rapture,  burst  on  my  sight; 
Angels  descending,  bring  from  above 
Echoes  of  mercy,  whispers  of  love. 

Fanny  Crosby's  experience  may  be  that  of  the  mod- 
ern CorneHus,  who,  having  given  up  all,  is  first  visited 
by  an  angel,  one  of  the  heavenly  powers,  then  by  the 
apostle  with  "  the  good  Word  of  God,"  then  by  the 
Spirit  of  Christ — "  the  heavenly  gift  "  revealed  in  that 
Word  and  finally  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  his  fullness. 

And  such  an  experience  as  this  will  open  the  eyes  of 
the  spiritual  understanding  to  see  God  in  everything. 
"  There  are  four  testanients,  the  Old  and  the  Oldest, 
the  New  and  the  Newest."  In  the  volume  of  Nature, 
"  the  Oldest,"  as  well  as  in  the  volume  of  church  his- 
tory now  being  made,  "  the  Newest,"  he  will  see  God. 
"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart  for  they  shall  see  God." 

Surely  it  were  worth  the  while  "  crossing  the  bar  "  to 
get  into  such  goodly  fellowship  of  sainthood  and  mys- 
tery. To  reach  such  a  stage  as  this  in  our  heavenly 
journey,  we  may  well  call  the  name  of  that  place 
Mahanahim.  (Genesis  xxxii:  2.)  It  is  the  tropical  zone 
of  faith,  "  where  the  flowers  bloom  forever  and  the 
Sun  is  always  bright." 

But  what  is  the  practical  end  and  aim  of  such  an 
experience.      For  an  answer  we  introduce 

The  Five  Commissioners. 

When  the  lepers  were  cleansed,  Christ  invariably 
told  them  to  go,  show,  themselves  to  the  priest  and 
offer  the  gift  that  Moses  commanded.     This  sacrifice 


154  THE    ANGEL   AND    THE    VISION 

was  of  deep  symbolic  significance.  The  substance  of 
our  whole  commission  is  beneath  this  shadow.  It  was 
a  most  comprehensive  act,  one  in  which  all  the  offer- 
ings of  the  law  were  combined.  If  we  can  find  what 
all  these  signify  we  can  find  the  wealth  of  meaning 
there  is  in  that  little  word  of  the  Savior,  "  go."  The 
first  three  of  these  offerings  were  all  "  of  a  sweet  sav- 
or,"  because  they  did  not  speak  of  sin.  They  are 
like  the  three  messengers  sent  by  Cornelius — who 
know  nothing  as  yet,  being  heathen,  of  the  true  na- 
ture of  sin  or  the  gospel  of  salvation,  or,  better  still, 
they  represent  those  prayers  and  alms  which  the  an- 
gel said  were  gone  up  for  a  memorial  before  God. 
Concerning  these,  more  particularly,  the  prayers  were 
the  burnt  offering,  the  alms  were  the  meat  offering. 
Andrew  Jukes,  who  is  the  great  authority  on  this  sub- 
ject of  the  typical  meaning  of  the  offerings,  says,  "  In 
the  burnt-offering  the  surrender  of  life  to  God  repre- 
sents the  fulfillment  of  man's  duty  to  God;  man  yield- 
ing to  God  His  portion  to  satisfy  all  his  claim.  In 
the  meat-offering  the  gift  of  corn  and  oil  represents 
the  fulfillment  of  man's  duty  to  his  neighbor;  man  in 
his  offering  surrendering  himself  to  God,  but  doing  it 
so  that  he  may  give  to  man  his  portion.  Thus  the 
burnt-offering  is  the  perfect  fulfillment  of  the  law  of 
the  first  table;  the  meat-offering  the  perfect  fulfillment 
of  the  second."  But  Cornelius  is  also  "  a  man  that 
feared  God  with  all  his  house."  He  is  one  who  offers 
the  peace-offering.  And  what  is  that  ?  According  to 
Jukes  again  "  the  point  in  which  the  peace-offering 
differed  from  all  others  was,  that  in  it  the  offerer,  the 


THE    WHITE    UNIFORM  155 

priest,  and  his  children  and  God  all  fed  together. 
In  this  they  had  something  in  common.  Here 
each  had  a  part.  They  held  communion  in  feed- 
ing on  the  same  offering.  "  Who  feared  God  with 
all  his  house  .'' "  Yet  these  offerings  were  the  lesser 
gifts  and  sacrifices  of  the  Jews.  The  great  of- 
ferings were  the  sin  offering  and  the  trespass  offering. 
"  In  the  sin  and  trespass  offerings  the  offerer  came, 
not  as  a  worshipper,  but  as  a  convicted  sinner,  not  to 
give  in  his  offering  but  to  receive,  in  his  offering,  which 
represented  himself,  the  judgment  due  to  his  sin  and 
trespass."  These  sacrifices  were  burned  without  the 
camp.  Now  these  Old  Testament  offerings  all  have 
their  parallels  in  the  New.  And  they  typify  the  five 
great  sacrifices  which  God's  people,  sanctified  unto 
him,  must  continually  offer.  The  sacrifice  of  praise 
and  of  good  works  are  the  burnt  offering  and  meat  of- 
fering of  the  new  dispensation.  (Heb.  xiii:  15-16.) 
The  sacrifice  of  obedience  "  to  them  that  have  the 
rule  over  us"  is  our  peace  offering.  (Heb,  xiii:  17.) 
The  holy  man  must  go  and  learn  first  to  *'  show  piety 
at  home  and  to  requite  his  parents."  But  then  he 
must  learn  also  to  "  go  without  the  camp,  bearing 
Christ's  reproach. "  The  great  outside  world  needs  him 
and  if,  in  ministry  to  them,  he  must  needs  suffer  for 
righteousness  sake,  happy  is  he.  He  is  then  enabled 
to  make  up  in  some  small  measure  what  was  lacking 
in  the  sufferings  of  Christ.  The  sacrifices  of  "  confes- 
sion "  and  "reproach"  (see  Heb.  xiii:  13-15,  Rev. 
Vers.)  are  thus  our  sin  and  trespass  offerings.  The 
one  makes  deep  spirituality  possible,  the   other  gives 


156  THE   ANGEL   AND   THE   VISION 

the  martyr  spirit  which  makes  the  missionary  spirit 
perfect.  They  are  represented  by  our  other  two  com- 
missioners, Cornehus  and  Peter,  the  one  in  all  humil- 
ity sending  for  the  apostle,  the  other  bringing  the 
Gospel  with  zeal  to  his  door.  The  coat  of  humility 
and  the  cloak  of  zeal — these  are  the  military  garments 
which  every  true  soldier  of  the  cross  should  wear. 

Now  the  first  three  of  these  sacrifices  the  church  to- 
day offers  acceptably  to  God,  but  does  she  offer  the 
other  two  ?  Are  not  our  churches  too  exclusively 
places  of  worship,  of  benevolence,  of  family  religion  ? 
Are  our  churches  in  general  animated  by  a  holy 
zeal  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  around  them  that 
are  perishing  in  their  sins.?  Is  not  our  Christianity 
largely  of  the  Old  Testament  type  ?  Are  we  not  rather 
Jewish  than  fully  Christian  in  our  Christianity  ?  And 
again,  do  not  "  holiness  people,"  as  they  are  called, 
neglect  too  much  to  offer  the  last  sacrifices  .''  Do  they 
believe  that  Christ  can  not  only  save  /ro7n  the  utter- 
most depths  of  sin  and  for  the  uttermost  length  of 
time,  and  unto  the  uttermost  heights  of  holiness  but 
also  over  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth's  surface  ? 
Do  we  not  hold  the  doctrine  and  the  experience  too 
negatively,  forgetting  that  the  blood  of  Christ  purges 
not  only  /ro7n  dead  works  but  to  serve  the  living  God  .-' 
Do  we  seek  the  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  great 
power  as  well  as  purity  ?  There  may  be  no  power 
without  purity  but  there  can  be  purity  without  much 
power.  God  never  gives  great  power  for  private  and 
personal  use.  Peter  was  just  as  pure  a  man  on  the 
housetop  of  Simon  as  he  was  in  the  house  of  Cor- 


THE    WHITE    UNIFORM  157 

nelius,  but  he  was  not  as  powerful.  The  pure  in  heart 
must  not  only  see  God,  but  seek  to  save  men  and  as 
they  go  forth  on  that  mission,  doors  of  opportunity  will 
open  and  lead  into  upper  rooms  of  Pentecostal  power. 
Then  will  our  testimony  be  believed  on  in  the 
world. 

The  Six  Witnesses, 

like  the  six  brethren  who  accompanied  Peter,  will  at- 
test the  genuineness  of  our  sanctification.  "  There  are 
three  that  bear  witness  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Son 
and  the  Holy  Ghost."  These  may  satisfy  the  indi- 
vidual saint.  But  there  are  three  that  bear  witness 
on  earth,  "  the  Spirit,  arid  the  Water,  and  the  Blood. 
And  these  are  needed  to  satisfy  the  unbeliever  and  the 
unsanctified  believer.  The  voice  of  the  Father  at  the 
baptism  of  Jesus,  the  face  of  the  Son  and  the  Spirit 
in  the  form  of  a  dove  were  the  heavenly  signs  and  seals, 
but  the  water  of  baptism,  symbol  of  that  Word,  that 
"  record  which  God  gave  concerning  his  Son  "  in  the 
Old,  as  well  as  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  the 
"  power  of  the  Spirit,"  which  immediately  came  upon 
Jesus,  enabhng  Him  to  resist  the  Tempter,  andendueing 
Him  for  preaching  and  service;  above  all,  that  other 
and  greater  "  baptism  of  blood,"  symbol  of  the  new 
life  which  is  "in  the  Son"  today  as  it  was  given  by 
the  Son  on  the  cross  of  Calvary;  these  are  the  wit- 
nesses the  world  specially  needs.  These  are  the  signs 
and  seals  which  men  can  neither  gainsay  or  resist. 
Let  us  have  these,  and  by  their  testimony  every  word 
shall  be  established. 


POSTSCRIPT. 


The  Word  which  God  sent  to  Israel  "  of  old 
"  The  Word  which  was  published  by  Christ  " 
These  two  constitute  the  whole  story  when  told 
To  all  who  will  hear  it  aright. 

Two  testaments  here  or  two  volumes  in  one — 

They  may  be  divided  by  four — 
The  "  witness"  of  prophets;  then,  deeds  of  God's  Son 

Not  all  the  world's  books  could  hold  more — 

The  "  -vjitness  "  of  Matthew,  of  Mark,  Luke  and  John; 

(For  Peter  and  Paul,  marking  down, 
Dictated  the  matter  to  "  Marcus,  my  son"— 

'Twas  Luke  brought  "the  books  and  the  gown.") 

The  "  witness  "  of  Jesus  Himself  in  the  Acts, 

Confirmed  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord, 
The  Holy  Ghost  signing  and  sealing  as  facts 

These  miracles  heaven  outpoured; 

To  Christ's  resurrection,  now  add  what  he  taught 
Though  apostles  who  ''witness  and  preach," 

And  read  the  Epistles,  their  foundation-thought, 
Sent  all  to  the  churches  by  each. 

Then  note  the  true  order  in  which  these  parts  fall 
Beginning  with  "  angels"  and  priests; 

Continued  by  Jesus,  the  babe  in  the  stall 
Surrounded  by  "  four-footed  beasts." 

Then  carried  by  Peter,  through  all  Galilee 

And  brethren  who  preach  Jesus,  too, 
As  forth  on  their  mission  to  other  lands  flee 

These  martyrs  so  bold  and  so  true. 


l60  POSTSCRIPT 

The  "  four  days  "  were  finished  when  mightily  gtew 

The  Word  of  our  God  and  prevailed. 
The  Acts  were  not  ended  on  purpose  you  knew. 

Th'  Epistles  give  history  veiled. 

But,  then,  all  was  finished  when  Christ  sealed  the  book- 
Apocalypse  faithful  and  true  ! 

If  any  take  from,  God  will  blot  out  his  soul, 
Or  curse  him,  if  any  add  to. 

The  week  will  be  ended  whene'er  the  last  two 
Days'  work  of  I'edemption  's  complete — 

The  first  resurrection  and  triumph  o'er  woe 
Of  martyrs  that  fall  at  His  feet  — 

The  thousand  year  reign  and  last  battle  with  sin 

In  which  all  the  forces  contend  — 
Then  judgment  and  fire,  a  new  earth  to  dwell  in. 

The  Sabbath  that  never  shall  end. 

These  things  are  declared  us  all  through  the  report, 

The  practical  matter  is  this. 
The  Holy  Ghost's  with  us  to  cut  the  work  short 
"  Bring  in  everlasting  rightness." 

Then  haste  while  the  age  lasts.     The  crucified  One 
"  Cut  off  in  the  midst  of  the  week," 
Will  come  in  the  clouds  when  the  Spirit's  work's  done 
Full  time  for  the  Lord  whom  we  seek, 

To  return  to  His  temple.     Ah!  Christ  is  the  theme. 

Beginning  and  end  of  the  Book. 
The  Alpha,  Omega  and  every  jot  e'en. 

You'll  find  Him  wherever  you  look. 

The  whole  is  inspired,  though  written  below 

By  sage  and  by  saint  and  savant. 
If  critics  deny  it,  the  "  high  "  or  the  "  low  " 

Their  words  are  mere  skeptical  cant. 


TIME  IS  IMPORTANT 

TO  TRAVELERS. 


I 


TS  importance  is  considered  in  running  trains 
over  the  Pennsylvania  Lines.  Fast  schedules 
are  an  easy  matter  on  this  vast  system  of  railways. 
Being"  the  most  direct  route  between  points  in  the 
territory  they  traverse,  and  forming  links  in 
the  chain  of  rapid  transit  between  East,  West, 
North,  South,  these  lines  possess  unusual  advan- 
tages. The  method  of  handling  trains  is  the  safest. 
The  solid  roadbed  and  smooth  double  tracks  per- 
^^  mit  quick  time.  The  first-class  service 
includes  every  convenience.  The' 
vestibule  trains  are  corqposed  of  Modi 
Coaches,  Parlor  Smoking  Cars,  Pullman  Dii 
and  Sleeping  Cars.  A  trip  on  the  Pennsylvania , 
Lines  means  the  enjoyment  of  the  highest 
degree  of  perfection  attained  in  railway, 
transportation.  Time  tables  and  informa- 
tion on  the  subject  may  be  obtained  of  ^  J 
Passenger  and  Ticket  Agents  of  these  ?::g^/«^ 
lines  or  by  addressing  either  of  the^^^j!/ 
following: 

5ain'l  Moody,  Ass't  Gen'l  Pass.  Ag't,  nth  St.  and  Penn  Ave.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
H.R.  Dering,  Ass't  Gen'l  Pass.  Ag't,  248  S.  Clark  St.,  cor.  Jackson,  Chicago,  111. 
C.  L.  Kimball, Ass't  Geu'l  Pass. Ag't. ,149  Superior  St.,cor.Bank  St., Cleveland,©. 
W.  F.  Brunner,  Ass't  Gen'l  Pass.  Ag't,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

E.  n.  Bronson,  Ass't  Gen'l  Pass.  Ag't,  Fourth  and  Vine  Sts.,  Cincinnati,  O. 
Qeo.  E.  Rockwell,  Dist.  Pass.Ag't,  Illinois  &  Washington  Sts  ,Iudianapolis,Ind. 

C.  H.  Hagerty,  Dist.  Pass.  Agent,  Fourth  and  Market  Sts.,  Louisville,  Ky. 

D.  C.  MacWatters,  Dist.  Pass.  Agent,  1127  Liberty  St.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
J.  M.  Harris,  Dist.  Pass.  Agent,  295  North  High  St.,  Columbus,  O. 

C.  C.  Haines,  Dist.  Pass.  Agent,  N.  E.  cor.  Third  and  Main  Sts,  Dayton,  O. 

E.  A.  FORD  F.  VAN  DUSEN 

Qeneral  Passenger  Agent  Chief  Ass't  General  Passenger  A£:ent 

PITTSBURQH,  PA. 


"Big  Four" 


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Paid  in  Capital $200,000    ^^^  "^^ll^''J^''?^*\?rf^-   „  i, 

^T^^  T.  EwiDg  Miller,  V.  P. 

Surplus  and  Undivided  "^^^^  W.  H.  Albery,  Cashier.... 

Profits $75,000     '^"\\^  -" 

DIRECTO'"'-  .Walter  Crafts,  M.  McDaniel,  W.  A.  Mahoney,  T.  Ewinsr  Miller, 
=     D.   E.   Putnam,  D.   S.   Grav^   C.   D.   Firestone,  John  Joyce,  W. 
H.  Albery. 

Issue  Foreign   Exchange  and  Letters  of  Credit,  available  in  all  principal 
Foreign  Cities 

DAVID  S    GRAY.  President  FREDERICK  W.  PRENTISS,  Cashier 

...CLINTON   NATIONAL   BANK... 

COR.  HIGH  AND  CHESTNUT  STS. 
SAFETY  DEPOSIT  BOXES  CAPITAL.  $200,000 

annual    rental   $2    AND    UPWARDS 
_      .  .      .        ,      „  SURPLUS  and  UNDIVIDED 

Every  Fact  ify  for  the  Prompt  „„„,-,.,„    «.„„„„ 

and  Careful  Transaction  of  a ''"^^^'^S-  ^^O'OOO 

GENERAL  BANKING  BUSINESS    Accounts  of  Individuals,  Firms,  and  Cor- 
porations solicited  upon  terms  as  liberal  as 
their  business  and  financial  standing  warrants. 

DIRECTORS.. .David  S.  Gray,  James  Kilbourne.  Theodore  Rhoades, 

Henry  A.  Laniuan,  Robert  B.  Sheldon, 

Randolph  S.  Warner,         Frederick  W.  Prentiss. 

Ube  Besbler  National  Bank 

UNITED  STATES   DEPOSITORY 
No.  I  DE5HLER  BLOCK 

CAPITAL  PAID  IN.  $300,000  -_         Geo.  W.  Sinks.  Pres. 

ra)  John  G.  Deshler,  V.  Pres. 

SURPLUS  FUND.  $60,000        ^^  C.  J.  Hardy,  Cashier... 

Does  A  General  Banking  Business 

Our  resources  and  special  facilities  enable  us  to  receive  on  favorable  terms 
accounts  of  Individuals,  Firms,  Banks  and  other  Corporations. 

We  issue  travelers'  cheques  available  in  all  pans  of  the  World.  They 
are  more  convenient  than  letters  of  credit  and  half  the  cost. 

United  States  Bonds  and  other  First-Class  Investment  Securities  dealt  in. 


INCORPORATED   FlB.  24,  1893 

The  Children's  Home  Socieiy 

OF  OHIO 

GOV.  WM.  Mckinley,  pres. 

vice-presidents: 

GEN.   R.    BRINKERHOFF,  MANSFIELD 
COL.  NOAH  THOMAS,  London 

HELP   A  CHILD  TO  FIND      >'°S.    PERKINS   BYERS,   SEC.   AND  TREA8. 

A   HOME  HON.    E.   O.    RANDALL,  counselor,  COLUMBUS 

OUR  MAXIM— The  Best  Thing  for  the  Child 

t\a  irzrT    To  seek  suitable  homes  in  good  private  families  for  orphan  and 
UUJ t:,^  1     dependent  children. 

AIIVII  lADV    To  the  National  Society,  doing  such  work  in  22  States.    Over 
/\(j.A.iui/\K.i     5000  placed  in  good  families  in  11  years. 

SUPPORT    Donations.    Membership  Fees:  Active,  $i  per  year;  I,ife,  $25,  $5 
«5«jt-t-v/iv  1     pgj.  ygj^^  fQj.  J  years;  Patron,  $50;  Benefactor,  |ioo. 

JSS'Tfo  you  desire  a  child?    Do  you  know  of  one  homeless?    Do  you  know 
ofa  childless  home?    Let  us  know.    We  will  do  the  rest.    Address, 

DR.  F.  H.  DARBY,  State  Sup't, 

38  West  First  Ave.,  COLUMBUS.  OHIO 

Xearn  toJlKIlrite  IRapibli?.,*, 

AT  THB 


National  Pen  Art  Hall 


Business  College 


DELAWARE,  OHIO 

The  Best  Equipped  easiness  College  In  the  United  States 


EVERYTHING   COMPLETE  WITH   THI 
VERY  BEST   OF  INSTRUCTORS 


L.  LeMAY 


WHY 


The  Man  of  Small  Means  insures  to  protect  his  family  or  others 
in  case  of  death.  For  a  small  annual  payment  he  insures  to  them  what 
it  would  take  years  to  secure  in  any  other  way  and  thus  relieves  him- 
self from  painful  anxiety. 

The  flan  of  Venture  and  Speculation  insures  because  though 
his  family  may  be  rich  to-day,  to-morrow's  reverses  in  case  of  his 
death  may  leave  them  in  poverty. 

The  Ordinary  Man  of  Business  insures  to  protect  his  estate. 
He  has  seen  many  an  estate  melt  away  in  the  slow  process  of  settle- 
ment, for  lack  of  a  few  hundreds  or  thousands  of  ready  cash. 

The  Retired  Business  Man,  the  Capitalist,  insures  to  make 
a  good  investment.  Life  Insurance  Companies  make  the  safest  invest- 
ment, without  risk  or  speculation,  and  with  prompt  re-investment. 

Life  Insurance  does  some  of  its  Best  Work  in  providing  for  the 
time  when  a  man  no  longer  needs  protection  but  does  need  help. 

THE  UNION  CENTRAL  LIFE  INSURANCE  COHPANY 
meets  this  need  with  the  best  forms  of  policies  ever  known. 

This  Company  is  organized  under  OHIO  LAWS,  the  best  in  the 
world.  Hence,  it  cannot  make  risky  investments.  Its  securities  are 
mostly  mortgages  on  real  estate  worth  in  cash  double  the  amount 
loaned  thereon,  exclusive  of  building. 

For  further  particulars  address, 

F.  F.  GREENE,  Agent, 

Qranville,  Ohio 


Hartsough's   College... 


OF 


Send  For  Term* 


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Individual  lustruction.     No  Classes. 
Prompt  Attentiou  for  Stenographic  Work. 
Copying  Done  at  Reasonable  Rates. 


Shorthand  Thoroughly  Taught 
by  Correspondence 


44  WESLEY  BLOCK,  COLUMBUS,  OHIO 


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8.  W.  Cor.  High  and  Gay  Sts.,  McCune  Block,  Columbus,  Ohio. 


MODERN,  PROGRESSIVE 
PRACTICAL 

FALL  TERn  OPENS SEPTEHBER  2d  to  9th 

Bookkeeping  taught  by  the  "New  Patented  Method  of  Actual  Business 
Practice."  We  have  the  exclusive  right  ol  this  system.— The  only  Practical 
Business  School  in  Central  Ohio. 

BOOKKEEPING,  PENMANSHIP 
COMMERCIAL  LAW,  ENGLISH 

Day  and  Evening  Sessions.  School  in  session  the  entire  year  and  Students 
may  enter  at  any  time.— C/ir/itoe(/£  and  cihculahs  sent  free. 


MCCUNE    BLOCK. 

COLUMBUS,   OHIO 


J.  W.  McCAFFERTY,  Principal 


COLUMBUS  BUGGY  CO. 


Manufacturers  of 


STRICTLY   HIGH    GRADE   VEHICLES 


We  are  the  largest  manufacturers  of  light  vehicles  in  the  world.  We 
have  the  largest  and  finest  repository  in  the  State.where  can  be  seen 
over  100  different  styles  of  vehicles  of  the  very  latest  designs  in 

Carriages,  Surreys,  Phaetons,  Cabriolets,  Traps,  Etc. 

We  are  known  as  builders  of  HIGH  GRADE  VEHICLES.  East,  West,  North 

and  South.  Our  work  has  gone  to  the  British  Isles,  Africa,  Germany,  Australia 
and  India;  which  shows  the  World-wide  reputation  of  our  work.  Reader, 
when  you  are  in  need  of  a  vehicle  of  any  kind,  buy  one  built  by  the  Columbus 
Buggy  Co.,  and  you  will  get  the  World's  Best.  Come  and  see  us,  or  write  for 
our  one  hundred  page  illustrated  catalogue. 

COLUMBUS   BUGGY   CO. 

COLUnBUS,  OHIO 


SOMETHING  NEW  FOR  ASTHMA  SUFFERERS 


Please  don't  condemn  until  you  know  what  it  is. 

Remember  this  is  an  age  of  progress. 

No  medicine  taken  into  the  stomach. 

Perfect  relief  guaranteed. 

Write  for  circulars  which  will  fully  explain  a  new  system  of 

relief  and  cure  for  Asthma. 

N.  TUCKER,  n.  D. 


MT,    OIIiBAD. 


TheoM'cal  Sem.MrYSpet'  J-'Jl' 


1  ^ 


012  01148  8287 


DATE  DUE 

mmmm.^^ 

/ 

Prtnix) 
in  USA 

HIGHSMITH  #45230 


